A search for home
by Anime lover 3593
Summary: When beginning Novelist Alister Kyne and his sister, Catherine Kyne took the hover bus that day, they didn't expect to be pulled into another world by a mishap in multi-dimensional technology. Now, it is up to him and those left stranded in this world to survive and find a way back home before they are killed by the machines or captured by human protecting Androids.(Under Revision)
1. Dimensional Shift

It was a freak accident.

That's all it was.

A momentary blip in the time space continuum.

I'd heard of the research being done, even though I never paid too much attention to it. After all, they'd just figured out the means to reverse global warming with a polarizing emission that strengthened the ozone. When did they even start developing multi-dimensional technology?

But I digress.

It was a cool afternoon, the windows thrown open to the spring breeze that drifted through the netting, blowing over my cheek while I worked. The computer screen flashed before my eyes, it's holographic glow casting away the last of the shadows clinging to the sunlit room. My fingers flew over the computer monitor as I hummed a little tune.

Maybe, I'll actually have this chapter finished in time to be submitted. Things were looking fairly promising and I only had a page or two left to write and a couple hours left to work on it. I should be fine… probably. Music played softly over the speakers, a foreign language filled with complex harmonies and strong vocals that quelled my racing thoughts as I worked.

So, of course, I noticed when the music suddenly cut off with a screech. I yelped, the monitor snapping shut as I blinked away the stars in my eyes. I glanced over to see my little sister grinning at me. Finger on the mute button. I glared. "Cath! What the heck?" I groused, letting out a groan as I turned in my seat, finally noticing how stiff everything was. I stretched up to the ceiling as my sister shrugged.

"Mom wanted me to remind you that we need to get going soon, the bus ain't going to wait for you ya know."

I lightly tapped my sister on the head, causing her to pout as I stood and brushed past. "And you should know I was well aware of the time." I waved toward my screen with a huff. "I was keeping track of it through that new app, remember? I followed what you said to set it up specifically so I can make the 9 o'clock bus as you oh so helpfully reminded me." I deadpanned as I began to gather my things.

I mostly just picked up the basics. My phone and some writing implements, definitely a pen, I needed a bunch of those. I also grabbed a sweatshirt because it was starting to get cold out and-

"Wait… did you say… 9?" My sister's voice cut in, sounding strangely off.

I peered over my shoulder, rolling my eyes as I zipped up my backpack. "Yes, yes I did." I hefted the backpack turning to her. "Remember? I told you we needed to be there a half hour early if you want to help me set up-"

She glanced down at her watch and then sent me a familiar smile that spelled trouble. "Oops?" She grinned, hurrying down the stairs.

Oops? I glanced at my phone, noting it was fully charged before actually taking a gander at the time…

Shit!

"Catherine Kyne! Get back here!" I almost screeched as I raced down the stairs.

Mom was already downstairs, watching me in amusement as I raced passed with my sister laughing just ahead of me.

The dang idiot could have gotten my attention a little earlier! Darnit sis! I glanced at my phone. I should be able to make the 9:15 bus which would hopefully give me enough time…

Oh, my girlfriend was going to be soooo pissed.

The door slid open as I hurtled out of the entranceway and over the railing of the stairwell, landing on the grass before sprinting to the sidewalk where a bus hovered, the light blinking on the side indicating it was going to close soon. This happened way too often for my liking.

Cath darted onto the bus, swiftly moving into a seat before sticking her tongue out at me. I managed to pull myself onto the bus just as the doors hissed closed and the hover jets clanged underneath, moving into position. I stood in the middle of the aisle, gasping for breath as the bus slowly rose up into the air. My hands sat on my knees as I took in deep breaths before orienting myself and taking one of the open seats.

Unfortunately, it seemed my timely entry caught the attention of the few people on the bus. Two girls sat in the back, one rolling her eyes and speaking, quite loudly, to her friend. I promptly ignored their words when I heard something about 'idiot'.

The next was a mother and child. The mother just seemed amused, her faint smile catching my attention as her son slept against her side, seemingly tired.

A little ahead, near the front of the bus was a young man, who was already returning to listening to his music, headphones firmly over his ears and eyes, presumably, shut.

I plopped into the seat, peering out the window as our house shot away from sight, as immaculate and beautiful as most of the houses on that street. But as usual, my attention was taken by the traffic that filled the sky. It was mostly buses, since the cost of the hover works was pricey beyond belief, but every so often I saw a car zip by, indicative of someone with way too much money and time on their hands. The inside of the bus was comfortable, with the air-conditioning running softly and a hum lulling me into a state of contentment, pushing away the annoyance.

Flying in the air like this, I never could keep my anger up. My sister, finally coming down from her high of being a brat to me, and setting me up for the completely wrong time, leaned against my side with a pleased sigh. As annoying as she was, she did have her soft moments.

Of course, even with the flight and her reconciliatory movements, I was still annoyed as all hell with her, so it didn't take much before I pushed her away, flicking her forehead.

"It's your fault you know," she muttered, fixing her bangs before dropping her hands in her lap.

"Really?" I clicked my tongue. "I think we already had this conversation…"

"Yeah…" She lengthened the word, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly, "about that… I really did hear 9 o'clock for leaving… not for getting on the bus…" She shrugged. "But hey! It was your fault for not keeping track of time anyway! You were the one who asked me how to set up the app! Why didn't you do it?"

"Because I'm still trying to figure the darn thing out! I'm a writer, not a technician!"

"But it's easy! Come on, brother. When we get home I'll show you how it works and then you won't have to keep relying on me."

"Uh-huh… until you show me something else and than precede not to explain it to me like last time…" I deadpanned.

She winced and smiled sheepishly. "Okay, I will take the blame on that one… but it only happened once!"

"Twice now." I pointed out, pushing my finger into her forehead, causing her to yelp, fingers darting to where I'd just poked her. She pouted as I chuckled faintly. "Ah, whatever. I'll deal with it. At least we managed to make the next bus, right?'

She grinned, dropping her hands. "Yep! And I am going to be helping you set up along with Rina, so…"

"Well I guess that is a blessing…" I muttered, briefly thinking of my girlfriend. Oh boy, Rina was not going to be happy... "That and the fact that the bus driver seemed pretty willing to wait, as usual." I glanced up front, noting it was the same person as always. Elderly Mr. Burgess, white haired and white toothed bus driver extraordinaire, as he liked to call himself. I wasn't really sure if he was really that amazing, but he was the main bus driver for our street so I didn't really know any of the others. He must have noticed my gaze in the mirror, because he did a quick wave. I chuckled. Yep, same old Mr. Burgess.

Once more, I found myself examining the rest of my traveling companions, more for something to do than anything important. I wasn't in the mood to be panicking about being late so… The two in the back had returned to whatever conversation they were having, the girl who called me an idiot earlier gesticulating vividly as her friend quietly chuckled behind her hand. The mother and child were resting, the mother peering out the window, one arm wrapped almost protectively around the younger boy, who barely appeared to be around ten. Then there was the boy with the headphones. Honestly, since I was sitting behind him, I couldn't really get a good grasp of what he was doing. Kind of like my girlfriend actually. She was a sweetheart but by gosh was she hard to read sometimes. Other times though, she had this way of showing how much she disapproves of you without ever saying a word. At times I'm kind of envious how she just has to look at you and you know you are in trouble. Speaking of, my mother is the same way and she has a bad habit of always commenting on my eyes, and how pretty they were.

Of course, pretty isn't exactly the term I would like to hear, but what can you do when most of the household is comprised of women? I mean, dad's around, but he's always busy with work so it's mostly just my little sister, mother and occasionally my older sister who sometimes comes around to mooch off of us when she can. I say mooch, but honestly, she lives two jobs and is raising a little girl because of… things. I don't blame her in the slightest. Actually, it's usually pretty good to see her.

I kind of miss her... I haven't seen her in quite some ti-

A buzzing sound rang in my ears, jerking me out of my thoughts. I could hear the radio playing in the background, sounding louder than usual… "Recent reports indicate that multi-dimensional tests have failed, scientist are still wondering of the cause of the abnormalities that have resulted, but there is no conclusive data. Citizens are advised to-"

Static... I wasn't the only one who heard that, right? A crackling sound that set my nerves on edge.

CLANG.

The bus jolted, the metal of the roof screeching before cracking right off. My hair whipped into my face as I jerked, staring up with a gaping mouth as the equivalent of a black hole swirled before us, the metal of the roof shooting into it with a twisting, shrieking crash.

Screams echoed behind me as I found myself grasping my sister, her holding me with a grip that almost cracked my ribs. My breath left me, evaporating as the whole bus was tugged closer to the gaping hole, the inky blackness fluctuating with shards of white that flashed in and out of view. The bare edges shimmered and spat similar to fire. I could just barely see the blue sky on the edge.

A sense of weightlessness enveloped me before doubling and slamming me back into the seat, tossing the two of us to the metal of the bus. My arm barely caught my head from slamming into the ground. My sister rammed into me as the bus lurched upward. I didn't even have time to warn my sister, I only found myself holding her close, hand behind her head just as the bus vaulted sideways. Breath and sound was gone, whisked away as if on the breeze.

"Brother, don't you dare let go…" My sister whispered as I cracked my eyes open, not really seeing, but feeling the arm extended under and past me. A faint cracking sound echoed behind me as my sister held me close.

Sunlight burst through the darkness as the bus careened downward the metal groaning and shrieking as we fell.

I could hear grunting as it slowly tilted upward just enough.

Or so I hoped as my whole body was wrenched forward, barely held steady by our location and my grip on my sister, who grunted quietly.

I could feel the bus buckle under us, the metal crunching and snapping. The flooring near my feet ripped upward, as if in slow motion, slashing past my face. Something ripped past my leg just as the bus finally came to a stop, tilting side to side before finally landing properly on its belly.

I found myself laying there, trying to pull heaping breaths into my starved lungs, my whole body shaking [futilely]. My sister pulled away, curling inward as I slowly pushed myself upward, wincing as pain slowly made itself known, my leg smarting something fierce. I glanced down, spotting blood dripping down. I shook my head and, using the seat, forced myself to my feet, somewhat noting the ragged state of the once there wall of the bus that was as gone as the roof.

I heard heavy groans and whipped around, spotting the two girls sprawled over each other in the back. They didn't seem too badly hurt. One of the girls pulled herself upward before catching my eye. She narrowed her gaze before quickly flitting over the other occupants of the bus. As I helped my sister up, I took in the rest of the situation… and it wasn't pretty.

I let my sister sit down, her whole body shaking as she stared at her hands, one covered in bits of metal. I winced and quickly surveyed the interior of the bus. The bright sunlight helped as the dust and debris began to settle. The girl from before seemed to be checking on the mother and child, who seemed somewhat unscathed, though the child was very much awake now. Mr Burgess, to my surprise, was alright as well. Though he was leaning heavily against the [driver's] seat, one leg twisted enough to show he wasn't using it any time soon and a vicious cough making itself well known as my sister hurried over. The other boy…

I pulled myself over the littered seats that decorated the middle of the bus to reach his side, noting with worry that his hand was sitting open and limp next to him, music player laying in his palm. I crawled over the last little bit and squeezed in front of him, before stilling.

His headphones were skewed enough to note how some of the metal had bit into the side of his head, blood flowing in front of his right eye. Ripping the headphones off, I tilted his head to one side as I reached to his neck, barely noting with relief the faint rise and fall of his chest, as I felt for the faint pulse under my fingers. He needed to get this wound looked at and pronto but…

Throwing caution to the wind I tilted my head up. "We need a medic! Anyone?" I called out, making a desperate gamble, even as I felt the boy shift, a quiet groan slipping past his lips.

The likelihood of their actually BEING a medic in such a small group was-

"I'm coming." The girl from earlier, the one who called me an idiot, pulled herself over the ruckage. "What seems to be the-" She cut herself off, spotting my leg for a split second before turning her attention to the boy. "Ah…" She grew silent for a moment before reaching into a bag that was strapped to her side, probably the only reason why it wasn't thrown. I pulled myself away to let her work and take stock of where everyone was. Mr. Burgess, with my sisters help, had joined the others near the back of the bus which seemed the least damaged, a few seats even still attached to their posts.

The older woman seemed to be talking with the others, hopefully calming them.

Speaking of, I would be a lot more panicked right now, but panicking would do no good.

On top of that… I tilted my head back to peer up at the sky, a dazzling sun reaching over head and spreading a warm light down onto us. A strong breeze whistled over the bus as a faint clanking sound reached my ears. What was that thing… that black hole.

Were we dead?

The pain in my leg screamed at me that I was probably not dead, and if I was this was a pretty shitty afterlife if I still felt pain…

That clanking sound drew my attention to the damaged side of the bus. Past a sparking cord and twisted metal was a stretch of grass that reached all the way up to what seemed to be an overpass…

An overpass that was crumbling at the seams, the cement plummeting to the ground, half burying a rotted through truck. I slowly tilted my head up to take in the large cement buildings a distance away on all sides, stretching toward the sky like gray fingers.

Okay, my thoughts were getting somewhat worrying.

I returned my attention onto the two behind me as the girl, or well medic, pulled away, an annoyed and frustrated expression on her face. The boy was awake, but he seemed delirious.

"I was able to stabilize the bleeding and it doesn't seem he damaged his neck or anything, but he has a bad concussion. I can't tell how bad without bringing him to a doctor or hospital." She must have noticed me opening my mouth because she glared. "I'm a med student not an actual doctor, I know the bare MINIMUM for treating wounds of this caliber, that's for next semester… or it was…" She cursed as she dug into her bag once more. "Here, help me get him so he's comfortable. We can't risk him getting any worse… as for you." She gave me a sharp look. "I'm going to take a look at your leg later so deal with it for now, got it?"

"I wasn't even worrying about it." I bit out a little harsher than I intended before turning to see what the others were doing.

They were either making calls, or at least trying to, calming themselves down, or observing the situation like myself.

Whatever this situation even was…

The clanking sound from before was now much louder, a faint vibration shaking the ground. "What is that?" The medic frowned, probably noting the same thing as me.

"Al!" My sister hurried over, scrambling over the mess. "The phones aren't working." Her voice was pitched up slightly, something I was not used to hearing from her. I reached into my pocket, pulling out my own phone. My bag had gotten thrown somewhere, and I wasn't about to go look for it… oh, never mind, Cath is carrying it.

While the battery of my phone was still mostly filled, nothing else showed, not even a flicker. No internet, no reception, it was like one of those old movies.

Okay, okay, calm down. "How are the others?" I asked, glancing to the group in back who seemed… a little panicky. My sister winced, telling me everything I needed to know. I let out a sigh.

"I don't know about you, but that clanking is starting to irritate me and we really need to get to the hospital." The medic spoke up behind me. "And I can't carry him by myself."

"I know." I hurried over to the damaged side of the bus, peering out to see if I could figure out what was happening around us. The windows on the other side of the bus were shattered and clouded, making it difficult to see. I raised my hand over my eyes to push away the glaring sunlight which just did not seem to let me breath. Geez…

Now that the initial panic was out of the way, I actually took a good look at our surroundings and man was I shocked that we only came out with a few bumps, bruises and one or two broken bones.

I pulled back, heading over to the back of the bus to check on the larger group.

"We should be dead…" the girl with the medic spoke up, also examining the twisted remains of the bus, still scorching a little from its collision.

The sun sat heavily above, its bright light gleaming down… wait a minute… "Hey… how long have we been here?"

My sister, of course, was the one who answered. "Twenty minutes… why?"

"Oh… just wondering…" I muttered, turning my attention away from the sun, feeling like something was off, but not quite sure how to place it. It just felt… so overbearing. "Anyway, we should get out of here and see if we can find out where we are. A crash like that should have alerted others, but…"

"No one's come…" The other girl, the non-medic, spoke up quietly. Her voice was timid and faint, but had a soft lilting tone to it that I hadn't noticed when she first spoke. Maybe she was a singer? Who knew.

My thoughts were cut off as a screech caught my attention. I scrambled over toward the opening, followed by my sister and the little boy… wait, what? I stared down at the ten your old for a split second, only for my attention to be ripped away toward the outside. From around a piece of debris from one of the old buildings, or even the overpass, the rusty metal of an arm clasped around the debris before shattering it, a red eye, or no… that's not an eye…

The sensors of a robot slowly turned to us. The robot was bulky with long arm and claw like metal fingers. It had two round holes that were glowing red, the sensors... It seemed almost humanoid… if you discounted the copious rust, and organic matter clinging to its metallic skeleton.

"Oh, it's just one thing after another." I choked out, hoping that the thing was friendly and noting from the way the eyes glowed and the faint murmuring that it was probably not the case.

My sister only gave me a deadpan look, gee, thanks sis.

"Not when its saying kill repetitively…" The soft sounding girl murmured, fear clear in her posture as she slowly crept forward, peering out along with the rest of us.

Did she read my mind? Oh… nah, we were probably all hoping for the same thing. "Yeah, probably not." I chuckled morosely before shifting backwards. Their weren't many options for escape. The 'non-damaged' side of the bus was where the doors were, but the doorway was slightly crumbled in and there was no way it was opening. The windows were a bit too small and we would have gotten more cuts trying to slip through.

"We're trapped!" The little boy spoke up, sounding both a mix of absolutely terrified… and strangely fascinated. "This is a dream, right?" His voice dipped down by the end.

If only. The robot shifted, the clanking sound now very obvious as the ground vibrated from it's footsteps. A faint tremor, but a tremor nonetheless.

I gritted my teeth. "Cath, get the boy behind me out of here." I surveyed the surroundings quickly, the creature was coming in from the left, the right side of the opening wouldn't give them much time, but it would do.

"Wait, what?" My sister yelped.

"What are you talking about?" The medic spoke up, growling. "How would we even-"

"There are buildings surrounding us, if we can get into one we can block it up and stop any thing from coming in. This bus isn't safe." I glanced back, catching my sisters eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

She stared at me for a long time before gritting her teeth. "Fine…" She scooped up the boy, much to the medics surprise, "Come on, we're getting out of here." She gestured with her head.

"I'll come with you!" The little boy spoke up, glancing back at his mother. The woman took in the situation before nodding her head. Soon enough the others were following Cath with varying degrees of difficulty. I could see the robot turn to them, seeming to try to figure out the threat level.

Well we can't have that.

Picking up a piece of what was left of the bus that I could actually pick up, I reeled back and tossed. A sharp thwack sound echoed around the place. Silence filled the air as the others turned back to me. "Run!" I shouted at them.

My sister nodded before taking off past the bus and behind it, racing out of view. The others followed soon after in varying states. The Medic was right behind my sister with the older woman helping our bus driver while pushing her son ahead. The quiet girl followed behind, surveying the surroundings before glancing briefly backward. I really need to get their names… well, I might not need them once we get someplace safe. We can find a way to make contact with others and figure out what happened.

Well… if I somehow survive pissing off a freaking robot...

* * *

So sorry about the delay you lovely folks. You see, I decided it would be better to just start at the beginning and clean up from there.  
Of course, after I made that decision I found myself inundated with work from my editor, one of my publishers and being accepted with another publisher all at once so... I was kind of working on three main-line stories at the same time. Things have calmed down a little, but there's still a lot of work to be done. I promise I am still working on this story, but it will come in slow updates. Once I get up to a certain point the story will continue, but I find I need to make the proper clean-ups first before then so... Anyway, thank you for your patience with me.

Thanks!  
Animelover3593


	2. Fight or Flight

I barely had time to make sure everyone had retreated past the bus before I noticed the flickering of metal in the corner of my eye. I scrambled forward, of all things, through the damaged side before tumbling onto the grass… just as the creature swung its arm where my head had been a moment earlier, fist embedding the metal side that still remained, the electricity that was starting to die from the damages sparked to life, crackling over the metallic skin.

I was now very glad we'd all gotten out as I stared back in shock at the freaking five foot dent in the metal that was now sparking.

I scrambled to my feet, suddenly very grateful that I was smaller than this thing as I raced around it and away, barely managing to avoid as it pulled back, twitching slightly from the electricity.

I think that was the only thing that saved me as I noted it swivel around and start racing toward me with surprisingly quick steps. I could hear the lumbering footsteps behind me, loud and clear.

Once I lured this robot, as I should probably call it, away I would have to find a way to get away from it myself. I wasn't an idiot, I could very well see that there was no way for me to fight this thing. Hell, I was having trouble out running the darn thing.

I briefly wondered if my sister had escaped, if she'd gotten someplace safe… and if I survive, how am I going to find them?

As I ran I kept half an eye on the robot, making sure it was still following me and throwing the occasional piece of debris any time it turned away. Still, there were no good places to hide and I doubted it was much better for the others… the only thing I could hope for were that the buildings were closer on their side than on mine.

I let out a yelp when the robot swung again. I quickly ducked and returned my attention to the road. Buildings sat in the distance, tall, imposing and appearing as if they'd been left to rot for eons. The potential of concrete crossed my mind when my feet suddenly struck a large shard of broken pavement. A road! Thank gosh.

I bolted down the street, taking stock in just how damaged it was and the potential tripping hazards. The pain in my leg flared up time and time again but I pushed it away.

I couldn't let anything happen to my sister, not like-

My thought was cut off as I stumbled, my leg giving out on me, numb from the blood loss. I gritted my teeth as the clanking rang loudly behind me. I was starting to get a little dizzy. I glanced back, noting the thing had slowed down slightly, whether it was from the residual electricity or something else, I wouldn't know.

Weeds and grass shot through the shattered remains of the pavement, faded as it was. In my peripheral I could just make out other smaller robots wandering around in clumps, their metal still shining even with rust. Thankfully, they were nowhere near where the others fled to, nor where I was now collapsed.

I gritted my teeth, lunging forward as a punch cracked the earth by my feet. My adrenaline was nearly gone and the pain was now excruciating. What a stupid way to die… I spotted a building doorway, the cement gaping maw big enough for me and only me, if I could make it there… I glanced back, rolling away as another punch slammed down. Okay, any time now!

Using my hands and good leg I scrambled over the concrete, lunging through the doorway. I highly doubted it would protect me for long, since the thing did see me go in, but…

I heard the robot stomping over, stopping by the doorways, its red eye slowly coming visible as it leaned down to peer in.

I was not sticking around to see anything else. Using the wall for support, I pulled myself up and hurried around the corner of the building, out of sight. With a pounding heart, I scurried up one of the piles that had collapsed from the floors above and stuffed myself into a corner, holding my breath as best as I could as a loud clanking rang through the building.

That murmur hung around me like a vice. "Kill… kill… kill…" It sent my heart racing, my blood was raging through my ears. For a brief moment I felt a tingle pass through me and I wondered, briefly, if it was a scanner or something. Whatever it was, it must not have found me, because the thing seemed to clank away, moving in another direction, away from my position.

It was moments like these where I am SO glad I'm smaller than most men my age. Still, where the hell did we land? There weren't any cities like this at home nor robots out for blood. I know there were some problems abroad, but there was a distinct difference between what I was seeing here and what I've seen of what was going on overseas. Plus, last time I checked, black holes don't transport you across the world…

Then again, what the hell did I even know of this whole situation? The thought flitted through my mind, racing around and around. As such, I don't know how long I sat there. Could have been seconds, could have been minutes, could have been an hour for all I know. Eventually, I allowed myself to relax and carefully crawled out of my little hiding hole.

I peered down and frowned. That creature was still below, surveying the area, almost as if it was on guard duty. Great, just great. I pulled back, thinking. I needed to get past it to get out but… I slowly glanced around the upper floor I was in. All the windows were more gaping maws than windows. I carefully peeled myself away and picked my way through the rubble to peer out. The outside wall, while somewhat smooth, dumped into some bushes the floor below. I frowned. As a last resort I could probably jump, but let's hold off on that thought. If anything, that thing might hear…

I stared down at the debris before an idea came to me.

I winced. Well, it wasn't the first idiotic thing I've done today. I made my way back to the debris, carefully picking up bits and pieces before heading back to the window, leaning heavily on my working leg. Finding one that seemed a decent size, I shifted it and then waited, listening. The thing clanked downstairs, the sound closer and farther, closer and farther, closer-

The stone slammed into the ground with a resounding crash, a stillness filling the air. I waited, glad I held still as a pulse echoed through the building. As soon as it passed by me and was past the window, I tossed another piece of debris closely followed by another a bit farther down the road. I heard clanks and quickly shoved myself back in my hiding hole behind the debris.

The screeching of metal against metal echoed until finally dissipating down the road.

I let out a breath, carefully slinking downstairs. I peeked out before heading back the way I came. Now that I could actually look around I could see the bus, still sparking and smoking over in the middle of a grassy plain, those robot like things around it. I morbidly wondered what would have happened if we'd all been knocked out in the impact or were wounded even worse to the point where we couldn't escape…

It was terrifying to think of. I leaned against the walls, carefully picking my way forward while trying to stay out of sight of the rooming creatures. The sun beat down, hurting my eyes and reminding me of just how thirsty I was. I swallowed heavily while moving on, past the bus and a thick… wait, is that a tree root?

Holy crap that's huge! I followed the thick root upward as it wound around the nearby building and out of sight. Okay, yeah, last time I checked the only trees that big would be in the ancient forests back home… not in the middle of a city, even a deserted one like this.

I shook my head, pulling away from that thought and turned my attention to the buildings on the far side of the bus. I briefly glanced toward the creatures before darting toward the buildings. One was squat only windows showing the way in, as if it had sunk beneath the earth at some point. Next to it was a multi level building that seemed to be slightly blocked by rubble.

I saw a head pop up behind the rubble and let out a heavy breath of relief when I noticed it was the little boy. I saw him pull away as I got closer, leaning heavily against the wall as my leg almost gave out again. Damn… Still, at least someone was safe.

A moment later, the rubble was practically shoved aside as Cath raced out, her smaller frame slamming into me, causing me to wince as I was forced to lean a bit too heavily onto my bad leg.

"Idiot!" She shuddered, a soft quavering in her voice telling me just how worried she was, before pulling back, glaring at me. Her hands on my arms, partially helping to support me. I just smiled sheepishly as she tugged me along, helping me past the rubble. It was a tight fit, but we slipped through. I only got a moment to 'admire' the dark, yet cool inside of the large room when stomping footsteps caught my attention.

The medic parked herself in front of me, hands on her hips and eyeing me with such a heavy reproach I was almost impressed. "That was stupid," she said bluntly, eyeing my leg. She let out a huff before glancing over to Cath. "Hey, help me bring him over to the others." Before I could say anything, she had put one of my arms over her shoulder and was tugging me to a corner that looked like it had been quickly cleaned up. Mr. Burgess and the one with the head injury were lying in the corner, asleep. She sat me down next to the boy. Looks like she didn't really need Cath's help…

"I'm… going to help the others block the entrance…" Cath spoke up. She watched me quietly, a worried expression on her face. I waved, letting her know it was alright. After sending me a quick smile, she hurried away. I watched her go, spotting how those able to move were slowly taking debris from around the room and were blocking any possible entrances or problems, as well as clearing up space on the floor.

I felt a, in my opinion, rough tug and yelped as the medic pulled my injured leg straight out, rolling up the pant leg. It didn't aggravate the wound, showing she knew what she was doing, but it still hurt! "I would be a bit gentler if I wasn't so pissed at you for doing something so incredibly stupid. Yes, it was helpful and yes, we made it to someplace relatively safe because of it… but that doesn't mean I can't still be pissed."

"Okay, yeah, I get that-" I gritted my teeth as I felt her prod at my leg before reaching into her bag. I think that's… oh that's going to BURN. Realizing, I quickly turned away, watching everyone else work as liquid FIRE was poured on my wound. Damn it! I know it's to help infection, but couldn't she have been a little bit more careful? Geez!

"Glad that you understand," she said, starting to wrap up the wound. I relaxed slightly, turning back to face her. "Don't do it again. We can't risk losing anyone in this situation, whatever this situation is, including idiots like you."

"Thanks…" I muttered as she let out a sigh, giving me a sharp look. "Still, who else would have… or well, could have done it?"

The Medic opened her mouth, before promptly slamming it shut, seeming to realize what I meant. "Emma can take care of herself…"

"Emma?"

She stiffened before promptly shaking her head. "The girl I was with." Her words were blunt and too the point. "Once you get some rest we'll start figuring out what we're doing and do the whole 'introducing ourselves' spiel." She definitely air-quoted that… "In the meanwhile, we'll take it from here, so get some rest."

"Fine…" I sighed. While I usually wasn't one for naps, that adrenaline rush - and subsequent crash- had really gotten to me. A nap, honestly, sounded great right now…

I must have needed the nap. I groggily noted as I opened my eyes, sleep heavily pulling at me. I forced myself to sit up, rubbing any lingering sleepiness from my face. It was still bright out, so I must not have been out too long.

I glanced around to see everyone quietly doing their own thing. Everyone seemed to be in a weird state of shock. I heard movement and looked over.

"Oh, so the sleeping idiot is finally awake." The medic walked over, squatting down next to me.

"You know, my name's Al, not idiot…" I deadpanned and she waved it off.

"Yeah-"

"Al!" I looked up just in time to see Cath almost dive at me, pulling me into a hug. I yelped as she just as quickly let me go.

"Geez! I wasn't out that long…" I muttered.

"Actually…" Cath's voice was faint, a nervous edge I didn't like tainting it. In her hands was our bags. Did she go out to get them? Did she have them with her? I couldn't ask as she continued, "You've been out for over an hour… or two…"

I blinked, glancing outside toward where faint light was still trickling in. "Okay… so that's something," I muttered, quickly glancing at my leg. It was well bandaged and was already feeling a lot better… though because it was finally fully numb or just healing I couldn't say. "So, what now?" I glanced over to the other two, noting how both were surprisingly quiet.

"We don't know." It was the older woman who spoke this time. I guess my voice must have carried in the large room, made sense but it was still worrying. "We saw those things passing outside but they aren't coming in… Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I haven't seen anything else out there."

"I saw some people all in black clothes race by outside, but they were gone as quickly as they came so I couldn't see them too well." The little boy piped up, peeking around his mother, who was standing off to one side, peering out the window that wasn't fully blocked.

Well, that's reassuring… I let out a long breath, pushing away the sarcastic thoughts. "Okay, so we have killer robots outside, no one has come to check on us, so that means the idea of humans being nearby is low, even though we are in a city and a few of us our injured… is that the gist of it?"

"Mostly…" This time it was the quiet girl who spoke up. She was curled up in the far corner, arms draped over her legs as she peered at the rubble. "The other problem is that we have almost nothing on hand. There's no reception, so our phones are practically useless. I highly doubt we have much food, since no one was probably planning on being stranded in… wherever we are and we also have no idea where or when we are…"

When… why did she mention when? I shivered at the thought and promptly pushed it aside, deciding to focus on the other, more tangible problems. I winced, pushing myself up, much to the medic's disgruntled retort to, 'sit down'.

"Al?" My sister walked over, supporting me for a moment as I steadied myself. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we have too many questions right now, so we might as well answer the easier ones and find a way to take a deep breath and calm down," I pointed out. "I might have been able to rest for a bit, but you all definitely didn't." I saw my sister wince and the others either shrug or look away, confirming my assessment. I walked, much to the medics distaste, to the center of the room and sat down, Cath at my side. I gestured, having the others slowly take a seat in a circle around.

The mother chuckled. "You have a point. We have all been on edge this whole time."

"We'll still be on edge though, so what's the point?" The medic groused, but sat down as well, her friend joining her. The two were sitting quite close, I guess they were good friends.

"Gren…" The friend sighed, getting a huff from the medic.

"Alright, so let's start with you." I grinned. "Gren, right?"

The medic glared as her friend chuckled. "My name is Grendel actually."

"But Gren is so cute!" My sister hummed, swaying side to side, legs crossed almost indian style.

Gren just let out a disgruntled huff. Her friend smiled warmly before glancing around at us. "Sorry about her, my name is Emma. It's nice to meet you… well, under better circumstances." Her lips slipped down into a frown before she let out a sigh, gesturing. I didn't blame her. I glanced toward the mother who seemed to be deep in thought. Maybe noticing the silence, she returned her attention to us, startled. "Oh, my turn?"

I nodded as Gren mumbled something under her breath. The quiet nudge from Emma was enough to indicate it probably wasn't nice.

The mother thought for a moment longer before saying, "My name is Rebecca, this is my son Henry. I meant to thank you, for distracting that robot earlier."

"No problem." I waved it off, earning a harsh slap from Cath. "Ow! What the heck?" I glared at my sister, who just gave me a look.

"No problem?" she asked, voice hitched.

"I'm not dead, right? So no problem." I shook my head, returning my attention back to the group. The tension in the air had abated slightly, not much, but a little with our comfortable interaction. "Anyway, my name is Alister, though please, call me Al. And this is-"

"Cath." Cath grinned. "Just call me Cath."

I watched her quietly for a moment before shrugging. "As for those two…" I glanced over to the pseudo medical area. Mr. Burgess was now awake, but he was having intermittent coughing spurts that were a little worrying. He noticed our attention and smiled weakly. "You all know me." He coughed. "Resident bus driver and all, just doing his job."

"Speaking of, what did you do?" Gren turned to him. "When we were landing, I felt it, the vehicle pulling up at the last minute. Did you do that?"

The man nodded. "I wasn't going to let us crash, at least, not head first. It wasn't exactly my most graceful landing, but the engine was shot and one of the hover plates was inoperable. It was the best I could do just to keep us straight."

So that's what happened…

"Thank you…" Emma bowed her head, earning a smile from Mr. Burgess. All eyes turned to the boy laying beside him, and I couldn't help but feel even more worried. He was out longer than me and his injury wasn't pretty. Hopefully he didn't have a concussion, but with the situation as it is, I wouldn't be surprised if he did…

"Well, we won't be getting his name right now…" I let out a breath.

"Actually, we might be able to." Gren grinned, glancing over to a couple bags stuffed into the corner. Oh, right, that's where Cath put our bags earlier. I guess everyone had dumped their stuff there…

"Gren…" Emma sighed, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"What are you suggesting?" I leaned forward, humming in curiosity.

"Well, we need to know what we have, right? And he should have a wallet on him-"

"With an ID, of course…" Rebecca snapped her fingers, having been pulled from her thoughts once more. I do wonder what she's thinking of. "That's a smart idea, since most of us are up anyway, why don't we shift through our own bags and show everyone what we have. If we have food, it'll be best to know now."

I nodded, agreeing and Cath, Emma and Henry jumped to their feet, rushing over to grab the bags. I stayed seated, not wanting to get another glare from Gren and Cath… and also because my leg did still hurt like a bitch…

They brought the bags over, passing them out before taking a seat. I guess Cath had grabbed mine. I thought I saw her do that, but I hadn't been certain. I riffled through it, disgruntled to remember she hadn't given me time to grab much. I found an old nutrition bar buried in the bottom, but that was about it. The rest were pretty useless; pens, papers, that sort of thing.

Since I flipped through mine so quickly I ended up with the task of flipping through the boy's, which was fine by everyone else. I have a feeling that, even though Gren suggested it and the others agreed, they still felt uncomfortable with the intrusion of privacy. I sure did, but I pushed it aside. The bag was similar to mine, black with only about two zippers. I checked the smaller one first, surprised to find a few small electronic parts, odds and ends that I had no idea what they were for. I zipped it back up, not wanting to accidentally lose anything.

I opened the next and almost cried out in relief. He had a water bottle. On one side of the bag was one of those metal bottles, it had a spigot, but I could care less.

"What did you find?" Rebecca's voice caused me to look up and a pull out the water bottle. My sister grinned, snagging it from my hands. She opened it up, peeking inside. After giving a sharp nod she tossed it back to me, causing me to fumble. Thankfully she'd thought to recap it, so no water spilled out.

"What was that for?" I groused, opening it back up. I really was thirsty-

"Well, You found it, right? I just wanted to check to make sure it was water and you wouldn't accidentally drink something else instead." My sister shrugged and I just sent her a look before agreeing that, yes, I was actually thirsty. Since no one stopped me, even though I felt a little self-conscious, I took a few sips.

Admittedly, it took all my will power not to down the whole thing as I passed it back to Cath who took a sip as well before passing it to Henry.

"That is… not…" Gren didn't look enthused, but if she was like me, she was probably really wanting a drink as well.

Rebecca chuckled. She pulled out a kleenex from her bag, I guess she had a small set in there, and cleaned it off after taking a sip as well. She passed it along. When it was back to me there was practically nothing left. But still, I'd already had a little so, gratefully, I took the last swig of water before placing it back down.

"We'll find a stream or something to refill it, since right now I think that's one of our only means of transporting water." Rebecca sat back, having filed through her bag. She had different things spread out in front of her from textbooks to a phone to a few packaged crackers.

I nodded, continuing to flip through the boys bag. Other than the water bottle it was mostly filled with more electronics and… I blinked, grateful I was looking through his stuff instead of the girls. I surreptitiously pushed the adult magazine deeper into the bag before pulling out his wallet. I quickly flipped through, noting how many credit cards and cash he had. Man! This kid was loaded! Why was he taking the bus? He was probably a year or two older than me, easily in range for a driver's licence… I shook my head, finally finding an ID. As usual, it was one of those crappy photos you have to take for ID's but he'd obviously known, grinning widely pushing his head forward at the last minute. I'm surprised it got accepted. The name written on it was… Machael Harlend.

"His name is Machael?" My sister's voice sounded in my ear and I nodded, placing the wallet back into the bag before glancing around. It seemed everyone else had finished their search and was watching me.

"That's a lot of electronics…" Gren stared at the ground in amusement as I started to pile the electronics back into the bag.

"Yeah, no clue why, but his bag is mostly stuffed with it… but it looks like just odds and ends, nothing concrete." I sighed, I would have loved if any of it was actually useable…

"So, what do we have to work with?" Rebecca hummed as we shoved anything of value into the middle of the circle. Mr. Burgess had pulled himself over, watching in amusement. It seemed he didn't have anything with him, but that wasn't really a surprise.

Overall… it was really disappointing. We had the water bottle, a few chips, crackers, old nutrient bars and not much else.

I noticed Gren glancing sidelong at Emma, flicking to her waist before seeming to ask her a question, too quiet for me to hear.

Emma hesitated for a long moment before letting out a sigh and reaching to her waist. "I… this isn't much but I just recently received my concealment permit…" On her waist, clipped to her belt… it was a gun. I gulped as my sister reeled back in shock. Henry blinked before stars shone in his eyes, shouting, "cool!" Rebecca seemed wary, but gave a general smile. To be honest, the gun startled me more than I would like to admit. For someone so quiet and reserved, it seemed really strange that she had… well… But I wasn't going to question it, not right now.

"Well at least we have something to protect ourselves with, how much ammunition do you have?"

"Only a clip… That's about seven bullets since there is one in the chamber already…" she admitted, gently placing it on the ground, facing away from everyone. I could see the safety was on, but that's, really, all I know about guns so I would have to take her word for it. I already felt a lot more relieved, knowing we had some means of protecting ourselves.

"So why didn't you use it earlier when that THING was coming for us?" Cath's cold tone surprised me, causing my attention to flick to her. She was on her feet, fists clenched as she glared down at the girl. "If you had a weapon, than there was no reason for my brother to cause that thing to chase him!"

"Don't go blaming Emma for your brother's recklessness!"

"Reckless? Sure. But he also saved our lives! And he could have DIED! He didn't have a weapon, or any way to defend himself! She did!" My sister's voice had raised as she slashed her arm sideways.

Shit…

"Cath." I jolted to my feet, ignoring the shooting pain flaring up my leg. I grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face me. "Calm down." I almost snarled, catching her gaze. "It's fine. She wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway. That thing was all metal, the bullets would have just pinged off."

Cath gritted her teeth, before slowly letting out a breath. I watched her deflate before letting out a sigh. I winced, feeling the pain redoubling and quickly sat back down, pushing my leg out straight in hopes to ebb the pain a little.

It seemed Emma had done something similar, having calmed Gren down as well.

It was no surprise, we were all still tense even after the introductions. Gren, clicked her tongue before glancing at my leg. She let out a sigh and took a seat once more, slouched.

"You say it was completely metal?" Rebecca must have heard me and I nodded. "Alright, that must mean most of those things are probably the same…" She let out a sigh. "I'm not sure what good that gun will do, but maybe we can use it for any food we might need."

Right… hunting… We don't even know if there are humans around either, so that would be the best next option.

Emma pulled her blouse back down, covering the gun that she put back onto her waist.

At least it was the usually collected girl who had it and not one of the hotheads…

"Alright, so now we know what we have…" Rebecca glanced around. "We need to figure out what we are going to do now."

I was glad someone had thought of that as well. "Gren is going to need to stay here, she's our only medic right now and too many of us are injured for her to leave. Emma has our only weapon, which means she's our only means of defense…" That wasn't entirely true, but I wasn't about to mention-

"What about your sister?" Gren spoke up, startling us. "She carried Machael and was able to run without a problem, and that boy is not light, believe me. She also helped block the door before you arrived… using a rock that two of us together struggled to pick up…"

I glanced over to my sister, noting how she nodded. I'm going to guess she acted without thinking again. I let out a sigh. "What about her? Maybe it was adrenaline? You know, like those mothers who pick up cars and such?" I shrugged, brushing it off.

Gren gave me a strange look that I did not want to decipher. "Adrenaline like that only works in short bursts… not constantly."

"Everyone's different, right? Plus she was worried about me-"

"So you say." Cath joked, but I could hear the nervousness in her voice. She did not like this conversation one bit.

"Hey!" Henry piped up, startling everyone. "Shouldn't we stop fighting? Don't we need to work together?" He tilted his head, slightly shrinking under our gazes before straightening, puffing out his chest. "I know! I can help in scavenging! I'm really good at spotting things and-"

"No." Rebecca broke in, sounding much sterner than ever before as she lightly tugged Henry back, away from us. "You are not going outside and that's final."

"But Mom! We need help! I can help! I know this isn't a game!" Henry pursed his lips. "You know I'm quick and good at spotting things and if those girls go with me then there should be no problem! Right?"

I could see Rebecca wanted to argue and, it was probably stupid, but I intervened. "We're going to need everyone's help, right? My sister will be more than willing to keep an eye on him." I gave my sister a side glare when I noticed she was beginning to respond. "Plus, with most of us injured, we can use all the help we can get." I glanced over to Henry and smiled. "You sure you up to it though?"

He only hesitated for a split second before nodding sharply. I could see Rebecca still wanted to argue, but it was Mr. Burgess who put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. I could see the argument deflate out of her and she sighed. "Alright… fine… But if anything happens-"

"We won't let anything happen!" My sister chimed in, thumping her chest proudly as Emma nodded. Rebecca shook her head once more and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Oh, Rebecca?" I was nervous to ask, since she was still probably not too happy with me but… "Do you mind keeping track of what we have?" Everyone blinked, staring at me and I rolled my eyes. "We need someone to keep track of our inventory, food, water, that sort of thing? I'll admit I'm no good at that stuff and everyone else has their own jobs."

"Oh… that… shouldn't be a problem." Rebecca nodded.

Mr. Burgess chuckled. "Don't worry lad, I'll help where I can. I can still move-"

"No, you can't." Gren cut in sharply. "You are still recovering, just like those two. All three of you are going to be under direct supervision until I deem fit, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am…" I pursed my lips, but decided not to argue with the girl. She could be scary…

My sister chuckled, a quiet sound of a clicking tongue reminding me of a whip. I lightly slapped the back of her head, ignoring the quiet yelp. "Anyway, what now? Do you all want to rest and then leave? Or-

"The sooner we find food and water, the better." Rebecca sighed, seeming tired. "Unfortunately, this city doesn't resemble any I've ever seen. It has an American style, but the design of the buildings and the surrounding area doesn't tell me anything beside that. Which means we could be anywhere. That means I'm not sure what indigenous animals are around…" She shrugged. "I can guess that the soil is rich with nutrients though, I doubt I'm the only one who spotted the large overgrowth."

All of us shook our heads before Cath let out a strangled noise. "Wait… if the trees are that overgrown… than what about the wildlife?"

"That… could be good for more food… and bad for how dangerous the things can be." Mr. Burgess of all people tapped his lip in thought.

All of us let out a sigh. This whole situation was just getting better and better.

* * *

 **See? Progress!**

Er, hopefully. I'm working on it guys!


	3. Healing and discussions

I glanced out the window, staring up at the gleaming sun before frowning.

"Hey, Cath, you said a couple hours have passed, right?"

"Uh… yeah?"

I frowned, feeling my unease, which I'd been able to ignore up until now, suddenly ratchet up. "Okay… so what time do you think it should be?"

"Huh? Er… the sun looked like it was high noon when we arrived so…" She trailed off, and I wondered if she realized the same thing I did.

"So what?" Gren grunted, dragging my attention away from the window. "It's probably summer, the days are always longer-"

"The shadows haven't moved." I deadpanned, causing everyone to still. In an instant those who could move had darted toward the window, peering out and watching the surroundings more carefully.

I have a feeling it was only because I got some sleep that I noticed, for everyone else… it wouldn't be difficult for the eye to trick them into thinking as if time passed…

"Holy shit…" Gren stumbled back as Emma covered her mouth.

"What the heck?" Rebecca muttered, surprising me. "That should not be possible."

Neither should it be possible to fall through a rip in space, but I wasn't about to bring that up.

"Al… how-" My sister glanced at her watch and back to me, suddenly nervous.

"How would I know?" I grunted, biting my bottom lip. "I just noticed when you mentioned a few hours had passed, but no one said anything so I kept quiet but… we've been sitting around talking for a while and…" I was rambling…

"It's almost as if time is frozen…" Emma whispered, causing a chill to run through the room.

"That's impossible," Gren scoffed, though a tremor in her voice spoke volumes for how she was really feeling. "Time can't freeze like that. The sun and earth can't just STOP rotating and stay in one place. The entire planet would descend into an ice age at minimum. Are you saying that the earth no longer rotates around the sun, or revolves period? Then, there should be no possible way that… that any of this is possible!"

"Then… maybe this is a completely different world… something that's not our own." Henry spoke up, his voice much quieter than before.

I think all of us had figured that, but we hadn't wanted to admit it. A different time period, a different country, we could all agree to that, since it might be possible to return home.

But a different world?

"So then… how do we get back home if we're in another world?" Emma spoke up, shaking.

"No way…" Gren collapsed to her knees. "What if… what if we can't? What if those machines are the only living things in this world? What if we're the only…"

"Stop." I cut in, stopping her thoughts in their tracks. "There's no point in thinking like that. We're only seeing one small part of the area. This city is large. I highly doubt we're the only things, or humans for that matter, around. Heck, Henry even SAW some people earlier. Plus, this world is still thriving, which means that something is allowing it too. I'm not going to take it for granted, the fact that we can still breathe even if the sun never moves. Anything… any saving grace we have, we can't take for granted." I let out huff, pushing some of my hair out of my face. Well that ruined that little speech.

"My brother's right. There's no point in worrying if there are or aren't other humans or friendly allies here. What we need to do is to focus on surviving and go from there." Cath's voice was even and I was grateful for her support. It seemed the others agreed as they all came back to sit beside me, all deep in thought.

"So… are you guys all going to get some rest now?" I couldn't help but snark, even as I kept my voice low.

Gren snorted as Emma chuckled. Mr. Burgess let out a quiet cackle as Rebecca shook her head. Only Henry let out a yawn, nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm not sure I can sleep now…" Gren admitted, surprising me. "But I do think that is… probably a good idea." She hesitated and I grinned.

"Don't worry, I'm wide awake. I'll keep watch for now."

She snorted, but didn't argue, showing just how tired she was. I felt something slump beside me and glanced over to see my sister leaning against me, arms wrapped around my own. She was already asleep. I guess she really had been pushing herself, worried about me. I gently pulled my arm out of her grasp and let her lay down, head on my leg. She couldn't complain with that.

I could see the others getting comfortable, seeming to realize that they were going to have to convince themselves to sleep, even with the sunlight. I hummed in thought before glancing over to Mr. Burgess. He was the only other one who probably got any rest that was awake right now.

"Do you want to see if we can darken the room a bit for everyone?" I tugged at my sweatshirt lightly and I guess he figured it out, nodding. The two of us carefully stood up and hobbled around the room, taking extra pieces of clothing and draping it over rocks or crevices to help block out the sun. Soon, only a little bit of sunlight pierced through, covering one side of the room, but leaving the other cool and in shadow…

It shouldn't have been as exhausting as it was, but I did burn a lot of energy and blood earlier so I wasn't too surprised. I felt my stomach growl, but forced myself not to grab some food. We needed to ration what we could. I sat back down, once more letting my sister lay her head on my leg. She muttered something before rolling over and I chuckled.

I leaned my back against the wall. Mr Burgess seemed to have used up all his energy as well. He was curled up on one side, fast asleep.

Quiet sounds of snores and mutters filled the room, giving me an indication that everyone else was finally asleep. Using this time, I thought over what we needed to do when everyone woke up. Most of the entrances were blocked, leaving only enough room for the girls to slip through one at a time. The medical area was the only place that was somewhat cleaned up, but even then I could see dust flitting through the air. Mr. Burgess let out a choking cough before falling back to sleep. That was not helping anyone either…

We would have to clean up the place a bit. The walls and ceiling seemed sturdy enough that they weren't going to collapse any time soon, but debris still littered the floor. I wouldn't be surprised if someone accidentally hurt themselves because of that.

So that meant we needed to clean up the place of debris, send people out for scouting and food and keep an eye on those in the medical area to make sure nothing ended up worse… and to make sure none of us get an infections with all the dust, dirt and debris.

I groaned quietly, massaging my temples. I hated having to leave most of this to the girls, but basically all the guys, except Henry, were injured or unconscious. I knew my sister could take care of herself and I had no doubt that the others could too… but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.

Plus… I glanced down at what we have. Looking it over again, the pile of goods was absolutely dismal. There was no way we would survive more than a few days with that… I was also worried about the different personalities. Obviously my sister and Gren did NOT like each other at this point. Rebecca was incredibly hesitant to let Henry go anywhere. Emma was too shy, yet she had our only weapon and my sister…

I had no doubt my sister wanted to keep THAT under wraps, no matter what, and I didn't blame her. If it brought back bad memories for me, I had no doubt that she was still traumatized from it… I let out a sigh. Of course, that didn't help in the slightest.

I heard quiet murmuring and perked up, slipping over toward one of the windows, carefully lifting the cloth. It was the normal murmuring of 'kill' that I'd been hearing over and over again… but it seemed to be directed elsewhere.

I blinked, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. Was that really- A kid, my age, all dressed in black seemed to be standing on top of the bus. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it seemed like he was examining it. An instant later, he leapt off with a surprising grace and outright sprinted away. This time I really did do a double take. That kid… how the hell did he run that fast? One minute he was by the bus, the next… he was heading away… in the direction of where I'd run earlier.

Was he tracking something? Was he tracking us? I continued to keep watch, breath held tightly in my throat. Something I didn't realize until I quickly drew in a breath, quietly choking. Right… breathe… A while later the same boy was racing the opposite direction, occasionally stopping, looking around before racing off again.

I carefully lowered the curtain, listening quietly, it seemed the person hadn't noticed us.

I guess I had one more thing to mention to the others… I wasn't sure if I was relieved to see another human… or worried.

Who in their right mind would go out there by themselves, through a field of those things, to examine a bus? Wouldn't you take, I don't know, a few dozen people?

It made absolutely no sense, and honestly worried me. I shivered, sitting back down. Okay, maybe I was seeing things. I think… I think this I will keep under wraps. Maybe I'll tell Cath, see if she can find that boy.

But I wasn't so sure about the others. What would they say or do if I mentioned seeing another human? I wasn't sure and it worried me. However, keeping quiet…

Keeping quiet about it was practically screaming for blood to be on my hands. If anything happened to them…

But what was the point? That I saw someone but they left already? That I hid instead of calling out to them? What good would that do? I berated myself quietly. Why hadn't I tried calling out to that person?

I let out a sigh, no point in worrying about it now. I'll keep quiet and hope I can find him later… or anyone, actually. If there was one then there were bound to be others.

Hopefully, they weren't hostile…

* * *

A while later, the others slowly began to awaken and we got down to business. Cath, Henry and Emma slipped outside while Gren checked over the unlucky patients. Note to self, don't run on a wounded leg. It doesn't heal very easily and hurts like a… well… Just assume a LOT.

Rebecca was helping to clean up the place with one of the few pieces of clothes we had, it was already ripped and tattered so I didn't mind but still…

I don't know how much time passed, but a quiet groan caught all of our attention. It didn't take much to realize it was coming from Machael. A finger twitched as a soft moan slipped from his lips, and not even a second later Gren was at his side, checking his pulse and pushing up his eyelids. After a few more examinations, she let out a breath of relief, smiling softly. "It seems like he'll be fine. He should be waking up soon, though I'm not sure how coherent he'll be." She let out a groan, rubbing the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "Damn, we still need to find a hospital or something though," She shook her head and then got back to work checking over the boy as I slowly pulled myself over, leg numb from sitting for so long… which was fine since it also numbed the pain.

I leaned over, keeping out of Gren's way as best as I could as the boy let out another quiet moan before his eyes fluttered open. His gaze was distant, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was blurry. Rebecca came over to check but backed off, probably not wanting to completely bombard the poor guy as soon as he woke up.

"Hey, can you hear me? How are you feeling?" I found myself asking. To be honest, I had no such qualms. I was worried and figured I would just be frank. The boy turned his head slightly before wincing. He blinked a few times before frowning.

"Fine…" He muttered, the word only slightly garbled.

A large breath of relief sounded from Gren, catching the boys attention. "Good, can you answer a few questions for me?" The girl leaned over enough for Machael to see her without having to turn his head much.

The boy opened his mouth before closing it, deciding to nod instead.

Gren smiled, a surprisingly warm smile that caught me off guard before she continued, "What's your name?"

"Machael Simons…" The boy said, frowning slightly as if in deep thought.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Gren leaned forward, making a victory sign before the boys eyes.

Only a moment of hesitation passed before he said, "Two."

After a few more questions reminiscent of the first two Gren leaned back, grinning happily. "It seems you're going to be okay. Still, your going to need to rest for now." She turned to me, smile dropping slightly. "Al, can you make sure he doesn't fall back to sleep for now? He might be doing better, but he's been unconscious for a while."

"Sure." I shrugged. I honestly didn't have much else to do, and talking to someone my own age would help. Plus, he did need to be caught up to date on the situation.

Gren nodded before standing up and walking over to Mr. Burgess. I watched her go before turning back to Machael. The boy was following her steps, watching her intently before noticing my gaze. "Huh… I'm guessing I'm not dead… right?" He spoke softly, jokingly.

"Nope." I grinned.

"Ah, too bad." The boy chuckled weakly. "Being surrounded by beauties is such a nice thing to wake up to." He must of noticed my horrified expression because he let out a laugh that quickly cut itself off into a choking cough and groan.

"You deserved that," I deadpanned as he smiled weakly.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I've… kind of heard bits and pieces while I was in and out. Guess I just wanted to lighten the mood a little. It was a bad joke anyway."

"Yeah, it was. And, really? Right after actually waking up?" I didn't change my expression.

The boy shrugged before wincing. "Urgh… everything hurts…" He mumbled and I sighed.

"No surprise… but it seems your doing mostly okay for being laid out for almost a day." I leaned back a bit, crossing my legs as he turned his head slightly. "The name is Al by the way. It's nice to meet you Machael."

"Likewise." He smiled slightly before frowning. "Can you… can you clarify what's going on? I think I get it, but…"

"It's a bit of a long story already." I pointed out, checking him over briefly. "Will you be able to stay awake?"

"I'll definitely try. I'm not in the mood to flip in and out of sleep any more, that's for sure…"

I shrugged. He tried to sit up and Gren practically leapt across the room to stop him. After a bit of arguing that I stayed purposefully out of, Gren finally allowed him to sit up enough to lean against the wall. He seemed grateful for the change of position. Once he was set I got myself comfortable. There wasn't much to tell, but what there was… well… it was a lot to take in even now.

I talked, occasionally getting input from Rebecca or Gren when they came over to introduce themselves, and he was a surprisingly good listener. He nodded or frowned as I spoke, seemingly deep in thought once I finally finished. He tapped his lip, wincing occasionally before glancing back toward me. "Do you still have my bag?"

I blinked and nodded, going to stand up, only to yelp as it was practically thrown into my arms by Gren, who just gave me a look before pointing at my leg and then the ground. I got the hint and grinned sheepishly before turning back to Machael.

Machael whistled quietly, amused before his smile slipped away and he reached toward the bag.

I handed it over, receiving a 'thanks' in return. He dug through his bag, humming quietly in thought.

To be honest, I was surprised how coherent he was right now. Obviously, you could tell he was still fighting something and every so often he would still, hand darting to his head, but he continued to work. He pulled wires and screws and other things out of his bag without rhyme or reason, at least to me. But, with how he placed the items around himself in almost purposeful positions, it was easy to tell that he knew what he was doing.

"So you said the others are out hunting, correct?" He muttered, pulling out what seemed to be a switch panel… I think. I wasn't one for technology…

"Yeah, why?" I leaned back, stretching out my legs to get rid of the pins and needles.

Machael hummed for a moment before pulling out his phone and handing it over to me without even looking. "Here. Open it up, the code is 5312." I blinked, putting the code into the phone before me, watching as the screen lit up like any other smartphone. A moment later a hologram popped up in front of my face, startling me.

I know we have holograms for computer use, but through a phone? I didn't know that technology was invented yet. Static shown on screen for a moment before Machael sighed. "No surprise. But that right there? It's a radio signal caller, almost like a modern walkie-talkie."

I blinked, gaze darting to him. "Wait, what? Did you-"

"I designed it, yes." His gaze flicked to me briefly before turning back to his gears. By the point Rebecca, Mr. Burgess and Gren had gathered around to watch. "Do we have any other working phones?"

We all exchanged looks as I shut the phone off to preserve battery. After some hesitation we pulled our phones out, most of us had low battery, much to my dismay. I know my sister doesn't have hers, because she always just uses her watch. I'm not sure about the others, though I doubt Henry has one.

A look of quiet dismay crossed Machael's face before he sighed. "Well, I can still work with this. He swiped up mine, thank gosh I'd already unlocked it, before he began tapping away in rapid succession.

Normally, I might feel annoyed at someone just flipping through my phone, but I didn't have much to hide, except maybe-

"What a gorgeous girl. You're quite lucky…" The boy hummed as I growled at him. I couldn't be too upset though, it was kind of my cover picture… He chuckled before shaking his head. "Anyway, it seems your phone should work, it's a fairly modern model, but it doesn't have the latest tech, that actually makes it easier." Before I could say anything he tapped a button on the side and I watched as he deftly started to pull it apart.

"What are you doing!" Gren yelped, startled.

"I'm setting it up to interact with my phone so we can talk even if we aren't in the same room." His expression was surprisingly serious, eyes cold and even. "If what I've heard is true, communication is going to be key and without cell towers or satellite interfaces, that leaves us very few options."

All of us exchanged looks, having to agree with his statement. He seemed to notice our disgruntled agreement because he nodded before going back to his work. I leaned back, letting out a sigh. "I'm guessing it's going to take a while?"

His grunt of agreement was all I needed to know.

Before anyone could ask anything else, hurried footsteps sounded from outside and we all stiffened. A shuffling sounded, followed by moving rocks was all the indication we had before our recon squad returned…

They slipped inside, letting out breaths of relief as they each collapsed to the floor.

Rebecca hurried over as Henry hopped inside, looking surprisingly happy. She checked him over, much to the little boys chagrin before letting out a breath.

"How did it go?" I asked, having been the closest to the door.

"Okay." My sister shrugged, letting out a groan as she tossed me Machael's water-bottle. "We found a stream thanks to Henry that had some fish. Unfortunately we couldn't catch any…" She sat up, crossing her legs as Emma walked over to Gren, handing over what seemed to be herbs. Gren looked down before seeming to sigh in relief. I guess they were something that she recognized. I could see Emma and Gren talking quietly, and so returned my attention to Cath. "All the buildings are empty and in the same state as this one, but the wildlife is huge. Those robots seem to leave the animals alone… which is weird." She frowned, glancing out the window. She peered around before lowering her voice. "To be honest, I was going to ask Emma to shoot one of the moose for food but… those things are huge…"

"You didn't want to draw attention and bring it back yourself, and having all three of you carry it…" I summarized, getting a weak smile from Cath. I let out a breath. "We might have to resort to that if we can't come up with anything else, you know that, right?"

"I know…" She whispered softly, as she wrapped her arms around herself, making herself just appear more fragile. "But… I don't…"

I reached an arm around her, pulling her close for a moment before letting go. Still, even the brief hug seemed to cheer her up.

Once everyone was settled back in, and the rest of the introductions were made between the girls, Henry, and Machael, we got down to business. Namely, dividing up the rations. My stomach was curling in on itself and I wouldn't be surprised if the others were feeling the same. Rebecca passed out the food between us as evenly as she could and we chowed down on our meager supplies before splitting the water bottle. We would have to find another way to bring back water since one water bottle, no matter how large, wasn't going to be enough.

Once we were done eating, Rebecca helped Cath and Emma set up a bag using the ripped shirt she'd previously cleaned with. Once it was cleaned out it could be used as a bag to hopefully catch fish. It wasn't foolproof, but it was all we had and the stream, though deep, was supposedly narrow. Machael continued to fiddle with the phones, mumbling quietly to himself every so often as Henry watched in fascination. Mr. Burgess was asleep again, which worried me a little and I…

I let out a sigh, peering out the window. There wasn't much I could do right now and it bugged the hell out of me. Thankfully, my leg was starting to feel better. I figured that one more night of sleep would be enough to allow me to walk around without Gren pestering me. I stretched out my leg, using the debris as a seat to boost myself enough to peek out the window while keeping my head low. No more of those black-clothed people arrived, much to my dismay, but the amount of robots hadn't dwindled… actually, it was somewhat worrying in that I swear I saw a few extra meandering around.

I frowned, wondering if we were the reason for that. If so… what could we do?

I let out a yawn, realizing that I was pretty tired. I tried to think over how long it had been since we got here, but I found myself unable to really calculate it. I wasn't going to ask Cath… I frowned in irritation. This constant, even sunlight was causing havoc with scheduling. How could you figure out anything about time when time itself seems frozen?

Speaking of frozen… was our world frozen? Did they know we were gone or…

I quickly pulled from the thought, berating myself. There was no point in worrying about our home world, not right now. Our first priority is to make sure we stay alive… after… after we could figure out how to get home.

I let out a sigh at the thought, followed by another yawn. All I'd been doing was sleeping lately, but even so, I couldn't help but still feel tired.

Soft footsteps caught my attention and I glanced over to see Henry hopping onto the debris to sit next to me, tilting his head curiously. "Sleepy?"

"Just a little." I admitted and he nodded, peering out the window. "So what brings you over here?"

He paused, letting his legs swing for a moment before looking up at me with curious eyes. "I just wanted to say that… your sisters very nice and really strong… I would like a sister like that…" He looked away, fidgeting. "Is that strange?"

I blinked, staring at him before a faint smile trailed onto my lips. "Nah, I don't think so." I chuckled faintly. "I can see why you would be embarrassed to tell her though, she is a handful."

The boy blinked, looking up at me with a curious expression. I waved it off before continuing, "A sister is nice and all, but she can really got on my nerves."

"Like my mom?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know your Mom much." I admitted, glancing over to Rebecca, who glanced over to us briefly before returning to conversing over rations with the other girls. "But if she's at all like my sister, it's only because she cares."

Henry pursed his lips, but stayed silent. He glanced to my leg before looking back at me. "Are you going to be able to walk soon?"

"Hopefully." I chuckled, peering out the window. "I would kind of like to help outside. I want to… I want to check some things…" A thought crossed my mind and I frowned before [returning] my attention to Henry. "Hey, Henry?"

"Hm?"

"You mentioned that you saw some people in black clothes… could you see what they looked like?"

Henry seemed surprised by my question. He blinked for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, they seemed kind of scary. They were all standing straight and tall with weapons on their backs like swords and guns and from what I saw… they wore blindfolds." He [draped] his hands between his legs, curling them into fists. "I didn't think anyone believed me when I said I saw them…"

"I can understand that…" I muttered under my breath before speaking a little louder. "Well, whoever they were, maybe we can find more of them. If we get on their good side, maybe they can help us…"

Henry nodded, looking surprisingly thoughtful for one so young before beaming up at me. "You know? You're pretty nice too."

I blinked as he hopped off the debris. I watched him go before letting out a chuckle. What a strange conversation… but I didn't mind it. I peered back out the window. Maybe that's what I could do. If both Henry and I saw those people in black then… then there must be more and they LOOKED human so…

I glanced down at my leg, annoyed. Hopefully I would be able to do that soon, because sitting around was starting to tear at my nerves… and probably everyone's.

I let out a sigh and hopped to the floor, deciding sleep was an absolutely good idea. I guess the others seemed to agree because slowly each of us found an area to curl up in before slipping into a tired sleep. I went to lay down when a thought came to me, and I wearily sat up, looking around. Machael was asleep, hand in his lap, covering one of the phones, as he leaned against the wall. His even breaths was indication it was sleep this time. The others were in similar states around the room. Was no one… was no one watching? I went to groan at the thought, wondering if I would have to stay up until I noticed Rebecca's gaze on me.

"Your still awake," I noted and she nodded, glancing over the group.

"I am… Why don't you get some rest. I'll keep watch."

"You sure?" I barely suppressed and yawn, but she still caught it, chuckling slightly.

"Yeah, don't worry. If I need to sleep, I'll wake someone to take over, sound good?"

I hesitated before nodding, a grateful smile on my face. Letting myself slump back onto the floor, I curled up over the flat stone, using what I could of my clothing to block the cold. Admittedly, I was glad Rebecca was willing to stay up. I felt bad but my tired mind wasn't allowing me much choice in the matter. Not long after my head was cradled in my arm, I found myself slipping into a deep sleep.

When I awoke it was to rummaging around and the quiet sizzling of a fire. I blinked, furrowing my brow even before I opened my eyes. Fire? Why was there a fire? I forced my eyes open, noticing the crackling of flames, dispersing bits and pieces of shadows clinging to the walls of our sanctuary. Warmth spread over the room.

"Oh! Your awake." Gren walked over, squatting down beside me. "I think you should be okay to move around today, but let me give you a quick check-over, got it?"

I nodded, letting her examine the wounds. To my relief she nodded her head and pulled back. "Good to go, just try not to push it." She gave me a look that practically screamed that she didn't believe I would do that before getting up and walking to check on Machael, who seemed to be in a similar state of wakefulness.

I rolled my eyes but pushed myself to my feet, testing my weight. It really did feel better, which made me more than a little happy. Being laid up when I know we're in a tough situation is… well… mind-numbing.

It seemed like Cath and Emma had gone out again to grab water and search for breakfast and, surprisingly, Mr. Burgess was tending a small fire, the one I saw upon waking up, off to one side, Henry watching with half-awake eyes. Rebecca was talking with Mr. Burgess, occasionally placing some wood into the fire… wait…

"When did you get wood?" I asked as I walked over, taking a seat next to the little… could I call it a campfire?

Rebecca glanced toward me before turning so she was more easily facing me. "Machael suggested it, actually. With the windows blocked[,] it was getting colder in here, and we needed some way to cook food if we managed to get it. Since we don't have any laser cookers or portable microwaves…" She shrugged and I sighed, realizing what she meant. Yeah, that didn't leave many options.

"So who started the fire?" I didn't even know anyone knew how to start a fire the old-fashioned way.

"I did." Mr. Burgess chuckled. "The little lad here and Rebecca wanted to learn how and I have gone camping a few times with my wife." He poked at the fire, causing it to smolder. "I happen to have a pocket knife on me that I'd forgotten about. It can't do much in a fight, but it is sharp enough to peel some wood off of those large limbs out there." He gestured outside and I nodded in realization.

Well, we definitely would have a lot of wood, so that made sense.

I leaned forward, letting my hands warm up as I thought over what to do before turning to Rebecca. "I'm guessing Emma and Cath are both out now?"

Rebecca nodded as Gren plopped herself down next to us, letting out a groan. I almost felt a little bad. She has been running around this whole time, keeping an eye on all of us. I could tell it was taking a toll on her.

Thinking about… "Hey, Gren?"

The girl briefly turned my way, her expression neutral. I smiled, lightly patting my leg. "Thanks for taking care of this and keeping tabs on us. It's really been helpful and I know we've been stressing you out, so thanks."

She opened her mouth, blinking in slight surprise before she slammed it shut and shrugged. "It's… it will be my job, someday." She spoke wistfully, glancing toward the ceiling. "Whenever we find a way to get home…" My smile only dropped a little, but it was still noticeable. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "But anyway, getting a thanks from you is just weird."

"Then I won't do it again." I deadpanned and she actually chuckled.

"Then don't get yourself hurt again and you won't need to, right?" She grinned before her smile dropped and she let out a breath. "Still… we can't just stay here. I have a few more herbs thanks to Emma that I can use as salve but…" She shook her head. "That's just for basic things, if something were to really happen… or someone were to get really hurt." She let out a breath, the air growing silent as we realized what she meant.

"Young lady, your doing more then enough. There is no point in thinking of the if's or and's." Mr. Burgess smiled warmly before letting out a quiet cough, turning his head. After he was done her continued, "Your doing your best, just like everyone else. We'll get through this, I know… because we're all still alive."

I couldn't help but feel grateful for the old man's encouragement. Rebecca and Henry seemed to agree and I could hear Machael mumble something from where he lay.

Speaking of doing all we can… I pushed myself to my feet. Considering my wound only twinged a little I knew I would be able to do what I was thinking of doing.

"I'm going to scout around a little." I spoke up, keeping my words blunt. All eyes snapped toward me and I could see Gren get ready to argue, causing me to quickly throw up a hand before continuing, "I'm not going far, just around the nearby area. I want to do something besides just sit around and I'm feeling better anyway."

Gren snapped her mouth shut, hesitating before letting out a long sigh, shoulders slumping. "Do whatever you want…" She groaned before snapping her fingers and glaring at me. "But if you strain yourself and come back worse for wear, just know I'm not going to be gentle in making sure your healed up, got it?"

"Yes ma'am." I chuckled, glad she was letting me go. I swiped up some breakfast, quickly chowing down on the meager rations before pushing myself to my feet.

"I'll come too." Henry scrambled to his feet, beaming. "I wasn't awake in time to go with Cath and Emma, but I still want to go outside."

I glanced over to Rebecca, checking to see what she thought. I could practically feel the hesitation exuding from her. But eventually, she sighed and her posture slumped, resigned. I guess that was as good of a yes as I was going to get. I nodded, swiping up a backpack just incase I came across anything and walked over to the doorway, pulling myself through. The sun was bright, not that I was surprised by that fact, and I quickly shielded my eyes as I landed onto the grass, Henry only a step behind me. I was, admittedly, hoping to go by myself to find those guys in black, but I wasn't going to argue about company.

Walking outside after being sequestered in cement for so long was such a strange feeling. The air, which I thought would be fresh, was kind of just there, barely a breeze lifting up my hair or touching my clothes. The buildings, whenever wind picked up even just a little, howled in an eerie song as we wound down the road, weaving through the streets. We kept close, as I promised, barely going more than a couple blocks away and ducking into a building whenever those robots came by.

But still, it was strange how desolate and empty everything was. Yet it didn't look like the buildings were so much attacked as… replicated. In our world, most of the buildings weren't even really made of cement, at least, not like this. Some of the older buildings, maybe, but most were steel or metal or glass. Even if they were concrete… well… I could tell humans hadn't lived in those buildings for a long time, nor maintained them. Yet, they still stood tall and proud… without a single thing inside.

I shivered, both curious and scared of what might have caused this. Henry was silent the whole time, sticking pretty close to me. Much to my dismay, we ended up not finding much of anything and I could tell both of us were getting tired so, empty-handed, we made my way back to our hideout.

On our way back, we took a different route and, to my surprise, ended up finding a little stream filled with water. Henry hesitantly poked forward, peering into the water before letting out a sigh. I wondered why as I hurried up, my throat dry and cracked. The stream was surprisingly clear, stones sparkling from underneath the water. I dipped a finger in and shivered as the cold washed over the digit.

Henry watched hesitantly as I scooped up some of the water and took a sip. It tasted pretty clean, kind of strange because there was only a hint of a metallic taste, which I'd grown used too with filtered water. Realizing just how thirsty I was from that little sip, I pulled up some more, chugging it down with Henry doing much the same beside me. After a moment I said screw it and ducked my head under the water, feeling the shock of the cold waking me up from my dreariness. Not to mention, it also felt good getting the grime off my face. I pulled my head up, feeling it trickle down my neck, my hair plastered to my skin. It looked like Henry had followed my example, shivering. Thankfully, the sun beaming down helped dry it quickly enough as we made our way back. I'd made sure to drink my fill, but I felt bad that I didn't have a means of bringing some of the water back with me.

Still, I kept track of where it was and figured I would ask the girls if they'd found the spring and whether it was closer or not.

Eventually we made it back, noting how everyone was sitting around, splitting up what looked like some fish. Though, strangely, there was one fish placed to the side which Machael was staring at in wonder and confusion.

I found myself curious, until I noticed the faint metallic sheen of it's skin and realized that it wasn't a fish.

I shivered and plopped myself down next to the fire as the girls carefully placed the fish onto what looked to be a flat metal pan. It was held up with three legs which were haphazardly placed underneath… though I use the term 'legs' lightly since it just looked like a mishmash of debris and other stuff. I do wonder where they found the metal though.

As we slipped in, everyone glanced over to us, before a tension I hadn't even really noticed, eased.

I guess they were worried about us. Who knew?

All joking aside, it was good to see everyone back in. Machael was sitting up and seemed to be feeling a little better and the others were chatting, probably getting a chance to better know each other.

I took a seat next to Cath as Henry plopped down next to Rebecca. Cath briefly spared me a glance, smiling faintly before continuing her conversation on where to go next with Emma. I quickly mentioned the stream I found and it turned out it was closer to the base, but didn't have any fish going through it. Still, it would be a good place for water and Gren, getting sick and tired of being stuck with all guys for the last few days - was it days? It was hard to tell - decided she would run to refill the water-bottle. Worked for me since my leg was once more aching.

It was hard to tell the passage of time, to be honest. We all ended up relying on Cath, who seemed to have taken up the mantel of time-keeper. After we finished eating, and Cath mentioned that it was getting close to when we should all head to bed, we decided what we were going to do tomorrow. Machael had managed to finish up two sets of walkie-talkies which would be able to connect to his phone as long as they were in a couple mile range of each other. Emma took one while I took the other, since it was determined we would be the best groups to look around. Machael and Mr. Burgess both were stuck to the 'sick bay' with Gren watching over them and Rebecca was there to keep an eye on supplies and the communication if Machael was out. Admittedly, I was a little worried about the both of them. While Machael seemed to be doing a bit better, Mr. Burgess… well… I glanced over as he let out another of his choking coughs, a faint rattling sound echoing around the room. From Gren's tired eyes, I would guess she knew what it was but couldn't do much about it.

I shook my head, still, we would be fine. We had a plan of action, most of us were recovering and I KNEW there were things out there besides just robots. I was going to find them.

I had too…


	4. Chapter 4

The sounds of clanking just seemed so consistent: quiet, loud, then quiet again to the point of irritating. We could hear them outside every so often, lumbering past our hiding place. It set everyone on edge, even as we tried to stay quiet. Rebecca was tasked with the most difficult job of all, making sure we didn't waste what little food and water we had. Difficult for me, at least, as I heard my stomach growl for the third time that day. I grimaced, putting my hand to my waist, half pretending to hold my bandage so it wasn't as obvious. Though I wasn't sure why I bothered with how everyone else seemed to be in the same boat.

Machael was trying to get some sleep, but the cold floor and what was probably a pounding headache didn't help much. Mr. Burgess stayed off to the sidelines, just kind of watching on, a silent presence. The rest of us were trying to keep ourselves entertained. My sister was throwing and catching a piece of debris in her hand as she stared listlessly at the ceiling. Gren was wandering between myself, Mr. Burgess, and Machael even though she'd already done it about twenty times at this point. Henry was playing on one of the phones that still had some charge… None of us took it from him since it was probably the only piece of entertainment we could give the young boy. As for Emma, she somehow had a paper and pencil and was jotting down some notes, or maybe a journal? That sounded nice.

It makes me wonder… what were they thinking back home, would they have noticed? I mean, it was pretty obvious that there was a large rip in the sky and all. Then again, who knows. Still, I'm curious how my girlfriend is doing. Was she looking for me now along with my parents and sister? Would we get a chance to see them again if we're in a different world?

Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing, none whatsoever. Did time even flow the same between this world and our own? I let out a breath, stopping myself from curling into a ball, as much as I might want to. Instead, I stood up and walked over to Cath, taking a seat beside her. She glanced at me, catching the rock and holding it, letting her hand fall into her lap in the process. "Hey…"

"Hey…" I spoke up, a faint smile on my face which she hesitantly returned. "Why don't we see if we can make up a game for everyone to play in here?"

"A game?" Her eyes lit up before she winced alongside me as we heard distant footfalls that were definitely metallic. "You sure?"

"Come on, it's me you're talking to. Can't you trust in your older brother a little?"

She hesitated, which sent a pang through my chest. My sister doesn't hesitate, not unless she's incredibly scared, especially not after… never mind.

But then… weren't we all terrified out of our minds?

"Look." I let out a breath and leaned forward a little, catching her gaze. "The only thing we can do is sit here and wait for them to no longer be interested in the area and then we can send people out. I know it isn't easy but… we need to make do, right?"

She looked over to me and took a deep breath before grinning widely. "So what did you have in mind?"

There's my sister, it was good to see she was doing better. It helped that my expression matched hers tooth for tooth. "We have a lot of debris around here… so how big of a tower do you think we can make before it crumbles?"

"Oh… Jenga ey? I'm in." We stood up, gathering up bits of rock as we went, all decent sized, garnering everyone's attention. It didn't take long before the others were joining us in our strange impromptu game. It was stupid, it was silly, but it helped lighten the mood as it gave us all something to do. With each rock we piled up, we would mention one thing about ourselves.

"I once starred as lead vocalist in our school play in middle school." Emma spoke up as she placed a small one in the middle.

"When I first got into school I accidentally signed up for a common course in scientology instead of sociology because I hadn't slept the night before like usual due to excitement." Gren admitted sheepishly.

I lightly put a pebble on top of hers. "My first published book took me three months to write and five years to publish."

I let myself back up as Rebecca picked up Henry, holding him up so he could put a mid sized rock on the top. He hesitated before piping up, "I once tried to catch a snake with my bare hands… and when I jumped for it, I caught a lizard instead."

We all chuckled at that, ignoring the scraping from outside. We probably should have been keeping it down, playing something that wasn't as likely to draw attention. But everyone seemed to get that. Even while we talked our voices barely slipped above a whisper, loud enough for each of us to hear and not much more. The only thing we were really worried about was when this might fall. Still, even with that worry at the back of our minds… I think we all needed it, a little down time to get our thoughts back together.

Unfortunately, the rock tower ended up collapsing not long after that and we all ended up falling back into silence, but at least the air was a bit lighter… well, not counting the dust. Their was quite a few suppressed coughs around the room after did have to remove a bit of rock from one of the windows to air out the room a bit but we quickly closed it back up when we heard the clanking returning. Still, even with the dust from the fallen tower clogging our sinuses the tension was abated just enough to help. It also helped that we all had a chance to tell a little about ourselves to each other. While it made it easier, it also made the situation we were all in a lot more real. I glanced toward the metal doorway, unable to stop the tremble from going down my spine. Thankfully none of those Robots heard us when the tower tumbled but… what if they did next time? We weren't safe here, but we couldn't just leave like this. It was too dangerous to stay, but it was also too dangerous for all of us to leave, especially with the state Machael and Mr. Burgess were in.

Shaking my head and standing up, I caught everyone's attention.

"Alright, I know we were going to wait for a bit before we head out again, but I'm also thinking we should figure out what to do after. We can't stay here, not for much longer. You've all seen what those robots can do and rock walls won't help us much." The others turned away as I spoke, but I kept myself going, scanning the room. "So I propose that we send out small parties, starting tomorrow. Some people will focus on getting food and water, while others will see if they can find local civilization. While we might be able to fend for ourselves, what we have for technology isn't going to fight those things."

"He's right." To my surprise, Machael spoke up, groaning quietly as he pushed himself to a sitting position and garnering everyone's attention. "I saw what we had when…" he paused, confused for a second before looking over to Rebecca, "When she was separating out our items. At best we have makeshift communicators but… not really weapons that can bust through concrete or even those robot's metal skin."

"Even our communicators only sort of work though." Gren put in, gesturing. "Unless we can somehow make them walkie-talkies or something that can connect with each other, we're not going to get much out of them."

"Not without a satellite connection…" Emma agreed.

Machael nodded. "Yeah…" He grimaced, massaging around his bandage. "That's why we need to MAKE them into walkie-talkies… ergh… my head…" He shook his head and turned toward Rebecca once more.

However, it was Mr. Burgess that spoke up. "Lad, you know how to do that?"

He nodded. "Mine is already set up that way… just in case." He smiled sheepishly before the smile dropped in pain. "I was… a bit of a fan of dystopian stories… didn't expect to be in one though."

"Great, so we have one. What about another?" Gren said before walking over to him. "And by the way, you should be resting."

"I've already rested enough to stay up for a week." Machael groused before complying and laying back down. "But considering my head…"

So… how do we make a walkie talkie?" Cath asked, gesturing to the pile of bags. We looked at each other and shrugged. Gren sighed as Machael chuckled quietly.

"He can work on it later. For now, rest."

"Can do."

Shaking my head, I watched the two of them before glancing over the others. "Cath and Emma, will you be okay with food and water duty again?"

"No problem." My sister saluted cheekily as Emma nodded. Switching my gaze over to Rebecca, it wasn't hard to see the clear hesitation in her posture.

"I guess the two of us can work on-"

"I'll scout." Henry said, catching Rebecca off guard… along with the rest of us for that matter. "Mom should stay here. She can keep an eye on everyone and I'm faster anyway."

Rebecca seemed like she wanted to argue heavily and probably would have if Henry hadn't turned to her. "Please? I'll be okay."

After some time she let out a sigh, relenting.

I wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried, but I let it go. "Alright, Henry and I will go out and see if we can find anyone to help us. Everyone else will stay here and either craft or heal up. Sound fair?"

After some quiet discussion between the others, we agreed.

Letting out a breath I felt a bit of hope rise up. We could get through this.

* * *

"We were screwed," was the only thought that crossed my mind as I peered over the edge of a building, looking down at a freaking twelve plus foot tall metallic RABBIT of all things. At least… it looked like a rabbit? Maybe? It was big with legs that were angled backwards and a thick torso. Machine gun arms rested on either side of its body. Considering the dent it made in the ground whenever it decided to make a large hop, I could expect it would pulverize every bone in my body without a hindrance. I could feel the concrete deteriorating under my hands as they clenched, nails scraping. I'd gone into this building not too long before the robot arrived. The only indication I'd gotten were the metallic crunches, but now I was stuck. The thing almost seemed to be sniffing around, if you could call it that, hopping back and forth with dull thumps. I felt my phone vibrate; glad Machael had been awake enough to direct us on how to change them over like he said. It was surprisingly easy but…

"This is Rebecca, how is everything on your end?"

"As lovely as ever…" I couldn't help but reply before letting out a sigh. "One of those robots are about five stories below me and won't move away from this building, I can't do much besides sit on the roof."

"Alright, just be careful, I heard from my son that he spotted some flying versions."

Great, another thing to add to my list. "How is he?"

Rebecca let out a breath. "He's doing alright. He's making his way back to base right now. I'm glad, since he said it was getting to dangerous and more and more of those things kept showing up in the direction he was going."

"Well at least he got out." I muttered frowning. If we end up with this type of resistance every time we came out it was going to make things incredibly difficult… we needed to find help and fast. I heard a faint whirring behind me and scurried for the stairwell. "I'll talk later."

A small storage room off to one side caught my eye as I quickly hung up on her. Sliding inside, I pushed against the wall near the exposed doorway. Wind whistled as the whirring sound grew loud enough to cause me to curl inward. One of the flyers she mentioned? I held my breath as I carefully peered out around the doorway using only my phone to record before pulling it back and examining the recording. It was a strange contraption, just a head sitting on top of four small rotors that were spinning quickly enough to boost it in the air. Thankfully, it hadn't seen me- or so I assumed- since it wasn't facing my direction in the recording. Still, I hunkered down, waiting for it to pass, glad I had actually hung up so Rebecca wasn't speaking.

Either that or Rebecca realized and had disconnected herself, I'm not sure actually.

For a brief moment, I saw the metal gleam as it passed by the doorway before moving away once more. I listened, holding my breath, until I could no longer hear it. I carefully peered out, before booking it to the doorway of the staircase. There wasn't much left of the stairs, but what was there was enough for me to climb down.

Thankfully, none of those things were on the first floor. Peeking out through what must have at one point been a window, I could still see that rabbit thing, hopping along. Mentally cursing its persistence, I headed for one of the windows near the back. After making sure the coast was clear I vaulted out and headed back in the direction of the base, heart thudding in my chest. To be honest, I was worried, and not just about the robots.

Our phones had been turned off to save power, but most of ours were dead. Only my own, Rebecca's and Machael's were still functional. Though, it made sense considering Machael had both a phone and a music player. Cath had forgotten to charge hers before she went on the bus and the others were left at home or broken in the crash. I turned mine off for now, not relishing in the fact that I was seeing a blinking red light on my screen. Even when put to max battery life with everything but absolute essentials off of it, I highly doubted it was going to last more than a few hours at best.

Pushing that out of my thoughts, I crept down the absolutely decrepit street, and yes, I am aware of my usage of wording thank you.

I shook my head at my own stupid comebacks and conversations. I was starting to talk to myself in order to stave off other thoughts, great. Peeking around the next building, I let out a breath of relief. The way seemed clear, but even then I practically tip-toed down the street. It was a while until I could no longer hear thumping or whirring from behind me.

Against my better judgement, and Gren's obvious annoyance if she caught me, I booked it. I ran down the street as fast as I could. The pavement clunked under my shoes as I scanned my surroundings with a careful eye. In the distance I could see those robots, but for the most part there was nothing near me. Thankfully, within no time, since I hadn't gotten a chance to go too far out, I'd arrived back at the base, sliding open the door before closing it and letting out a breath.

"Good to see you are alright." Gren spoke up with a frown. "You worried half of us to death when you suddenly hung up like that."

"Only half?" I joked before letting out a breath. "Yeah, sorry, almost got caught by one of the flying ones, there's so many different types its ridiculous."

"But what are they for?"

I jumped, looking over to see Emma glance up to me. She must have gotten back earlier, because she was busy organizing some of the items she'd collected along with Cath. I could see they'd managed to catch a few fish and gathered other herbs, so hopefully we'll have something hot tonight. My mouth watered at the prospect, but I quickly used the back of my hand to wipe it away and answer her question… sort of. "Wish I knew, some don't seem too hostile but others…" I shivered at the red eyes I'd seen every so often. Thankfully the idea of, if you can see them they can see you, doesn't always pertain to these robots… either that or I'm just that darn lucky…

Probably the latter to be honest.

"Well, whatever they are, they mean business," Cath said, shaking her head as we heard the metal screech. We looked over as Henry ducked inside and closed it before letting out a breath, hands on his knees.

"Henry!" Rebecca hurried over, pulling him up in a hug. "Oh, it's good to see you're alright."

"Mom!" He choked. "Can't. Breathe…"

She quickly let go before ruffling his hair. "Sorry." She whispered. "I was just so worried, alright? I don't like the idea of you going out alone, okay?"

"I know but… I'm fine, aren't I? I can take care of myself."

"But…"

"Mom!" Henry almost shouted, startling her before pulling back into himself. He seemed to take a deep centering breath before standing up a bit taller. "Please? I don't want to just sit around when everyone else is doing something. I can help and I've shown I can stay out of harms way. Like hide-and-seek, right?"

Rebecca seemed to hesitate for so long, I was starting to get nervous, but eventually she bowed her head. "Alright. I won't stop worrying but, if you feel that adamant… I won't stop you, okay?"

Henry beamed, hugging her tightly before turning to me, much to my surprise. "Thank you for allowing me to go out as well."

"Er… no problem.." I coughed into my fist before turning to everyone, hoping to defuse the tension a bit. "So we just need to get ourselves a small fire and we can make some dinner. Sound good?"

The resounding "yes" was clarification enough.

* * *

 **Thanks for joining us today!**

I also want to thank my beta Coolguybest9. Let me know what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5

So it continued like this over the next two or three "days". It was hard to keep count with the sun never really setting and the only one we can rely on being Cath and her trusty watch. After the first day we kept our phones off unless we desperately needed them. Machael was able to find a way to keep one of the phones charged through some of the parts we'd found, but more often than not he was forced to sleep when his concussion got the better of him. To be honest, we were all worried about him since he wasn't getting much better, but at least he wasn't getting worse. Mr. Burgess was also out for the count with his leg. It seemed he'd also caught a nasty cough that wouldn't go away and was probably because of all the dust.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling what little energy I'd managed to accumulate over the fitful nights sleep already seeping out. The cold hard ground wasn't much more comfortable even with a few strips of cloth we had available to use. Especially since what little resources we had were scarce, only available on the few scavenging attempts we managed to achieve with Cath's strength and Emma's watchful eye.

Right now, that wasn't my main priority. I slipped into another building, spotting a robot patrol up ahead. Thankfully, none had spotted me yet. Though I held no illusions that they won't eventually. I wasn't sure what I would do if that happened but… that was something I would worry about later. I flicked the phone open, relieved to see there was some battery left. Pressing a few buttons, I heard the a faint static before it connected. After checking to make sure the connection was solid I spoke. "Alright, I'm going to continue a little farther today. I'll try to keep in contact but if I'm not back in a couple hours-"

We'll send someone to look for you." Rebecca cut in.

"I was about to argue when any farther words were cut off as a strange static sound filled the air itself. Very different from what I heard from the phone. I slowly turned, only to almost wet myself at the same time as a screech rang from the freaking Robot's behind me. I could have SWORN that robot patrol was farther down the street, but considering their gleaming red eyes were trained on me… that was a negative.

"I'll… get back to you on that." I slowly lowered my phone, snapping it shut. The click of the phone rang in the eerie stillness.

"Well… no time like the present to book it!

I dashed away as the creatures screeched once more, hobbling toward me on their stubby legs. As short as they were, I was not taking any chances.

And by God, was I glad I thought that, as I saw what seemed to be a purple BALL of all things burst against the door where I stood, shattering a chunk out of the cement. Note to self, don't get hit by that!

I ducked out of the building, tripping over a root that I hadn't seen, stumbling for a second before taking off once more. I raced through what once must have been a side street or an alleyway and onto the next street over. I heard shuffling before a shadow covered the area. I slid to a halt, craning my neck back. I'm not sure whether my legs just locked up then… or turned to jelly. Above me, careening toward the earth from on top of one of the buildings, was a robot easily three times my height with arms akin to trucks and legs that had no right to be able to hold its weight when it crashed into the cement. I could almost see the shockwave when it landed, ripping up the cement and pavement in a circle around it. I found myself on the ground, arms and legs scrapped from the sudden collision.

"Kill… androids… kill…" There it was again, that eerie chant from the synthesized voice echoing out of that freaking behemoth!

"I'm… I don't know what you're talking about!" I couldn't help but shout, scrambling backwards, knowing full well it wouldn't do me any good. I'd seen how fast some of these things moved when I was watching from a safe hiding spot… I guess my luck had really run out this time.

The thing turned to me, looking ready to swing it arms.

"Whelp… this was going to hurt. The lackluster thought rang through my head as I gritted my teeth, eyes snapping shut.

I felt a pulse ring out and blinked as I noticed nothing was happening. I glanced back toward the behemoth to see that there seemed to be a strange lock around the creature, as if it was frozen in stasis. A moment later it blinked, or as much as it could blink with glowing red robot eyes.

"Come on! Let's go."

I felt a hand grab my shoulder and yelped as I was pulled up and away. I stumbled after the person… no… boy from what I could see. He was dressed all in black with black hair and shorts. He seemed thin, if not scrawny. I could see something like a tie, a headband? I couldn't tell from the angle I was at.

"What? Are your speed chips malfunctioning? Hurry up." The boy grunted, curving around the corner. I could only gap at him in utter confusion before shaking my head and forcing my legs to go faster. Both relieved and absolutely terrified at the fact that I'd found my first HUMAN while coming in contact with a machine. God, what a day.

And it wasn't getting better I found as we weaved through a maze of streets and areas, the ringing of the robot echoing off the buildings behind us.

Finally, after what felt like forever, we stopped inside a building, on the second floor. I slumped to my knees, breath ragged as I gulped down air. My arms and legs shaking from fear and exertion.

After some time the boy turned away from the window he was keeping watch at and I finally got a clear look of him.

"Why the hell are you wearing a blindfold!" I spoke up, staring in shock. My savior had been running ahead of me with a freaking blindfold on and, I know things have advanced a lot in cures and treatments for blindness but… seriously…

The boy huffed, annoyed. "It's a visor." He spoke succinctly before sighing. "I'm guessing you just got into this area recently. There has been an uptick in machine rampages." He stepped away from the window, walking over to me. "I'm guessing you were heading to the Resistance base. I can take you there if you want. The name is 4S by the way." He extended a hand. I blinked before gingerly taking it.

"Al…" I wasn't about to make fun of the first human I've seen so far, even if he does have a number and letter as a name. He surveyed me quietly before turning to look outside.

"It's getting late, we best get going."

"Wait!" I called as he turned toward the stairwell. "I can't go, not yet."

He stopped, tilting his head a bit in what was probably confusion. It was so hard to tell with the blindfold… "Why not?" His voice, sounded almost curious.

"Because…" I hesitated. I don't know why, but I wasn't sure I wanted to mention the others yet. Could I trust this person? They saved my life, yes, but at the same time I didn't know what the people of this world were like. But the boy in front of me barely looked touched. You could have grabbed some fashion magazine from home and he would have been on one of the splash pages. It was somewhat disconcerting.

"How about this; I will wait here for whatever you need to get done. This location is secure from the Machines and yet still easy for you to get to." The boy pointed out and I let out a breath, thanking him quickly before hurrying down the stairs and out the door. I didn't go too far, just out of sight and earshot, before pulling out my phone again. I stared down at it, taking a moment to figure out what I wanted to say before calling.

"I heard what was probably supposed to be an imitation of a ring before it clicked. "Al! Are you okay?" Cath's voice jerked through the phone, causing me to pull it away even farther from my face and, considering I had it in front of me instead of beside my ear, that was saying something.

"I'm fine Cath. I met someone while I was out and about. He seems a little strange but he did help me when I got into a little pinch. He's waiting for me right now actually."

"I heard a sigh of relief before jostling sounded through the phone. "Al…" That voice could only be Gren from the way I could practically see her teeth gnashing. "You better have a darn good explanation for what that screech was earlier because by gosh-"

"And I'll give it. Later." I cut in before massaging the bridge of my nose and letting out a sigh. "Look, this guy said there is a Resistance base or something not that far from here. He said he would take me…"

"But you're worried about leaving us or mentioning us?" Rebecca's voice spoke up, matter of factly.

"Er… right…"

Silence covered the other end, hushed by what was probably murmuring conversation until finally Cath came back on. "Alright bro, we'll leave it up to you. We think you should go with him and take a look at the place. We'll go from there and decide what to do, just… please be careful, okay?"

I nodded, only to quickly realize it was audio only, "Right… thanks Cath."

"No problem. Oh, and if they have a medic and you feel they're trustworthy, bring them right away, okay? Mr. Burgess is starting to cough up phlegm... and Machael is barely staying awake..." The worried tone of her voice was worse to hear than the already despondent words.

I swallowed harshly. "Don't worry, I will." I promised before saying my goodbyes and hanging up. I let out a breath and headed back upstairs to meet with the boy from before. Before I stepped back in, I took note of the way he was leaning back on what could only be a holographic chair, a computer screen very similar to what I'd used just the other day back home, flickered in front of him.

"You all done?" He called, not even really turning my way. I jumped, startled as he finally sat up, the chair disappearing as he turned. "I could sense you coming up the stairs. I'm a scanner type you know…" He stared at me long and hard before gesturing. "You know… you are a strange one, aren't you? I can't find where your cortex or OS chips are. Obviously you are Resistance so you wouldn't have a black box… but you aren't a Machine, so…"

OS chip? Black boxes? Even through my confusion, I tried to stay neutral. "Well, there are a lot of strange things in the world."

"The boy stared at me for a long time before nodding. "I guess you're right." He headed past me and down the stairs. I raised an eyebrow but followed after him, parsing through what he'd mentioned. OS chips were something… mechanical, yet he looked perfectly human, besides the visor, to me so… What could he be talking about? We hurried down the street, taking a steady clip that I was already starting to regret. I was never a runner in my world, short distance sprints at most, but I was doing a heck of a lot of it lately and, with lack of sleep and a minimal amount of food… I wasn't doing too great.

I knew I was fatigued, but for some reason, I didn't want to show this person. After all, he was shorter than me and yet looked no worse for wear. Thankfully, for my lungs, legs and sanity, the base really wasn't that far off. Though considering how tired I was, I had been going for most of the day.

No wonder everything looked doubled… I might need to get some sleep soon. Thank God they let me rest before I decided to do this fool's errand. Who knew I'd gotten this far from base already... I shook my head and looked up the slope, noting some machines milling out near the water on my left. I gulped, but followed after 4S as he slowed to a walk up the slope and past a set of barricades. I could see people talking back and forth and caught a few eyes, but just focused ahead. If this was a base, I had to make sure it was alright before bringing the others in. They weren't exactly safe where they were, but… We stepped past the shaded overhangs of buildings before entering a commons area that jolted me to a stop. All around were people walking to and fro, some hurrying back and forth in ragged cloaks, while a few walked with purposeful strides, mostly women, in high heels, visors and skin tight black clothes that were… well… I gulped and promptly looked away as one woman passed with a short skirt and long combat boots, a sword strapped- no, hovering on her back. Well shit. Thankfully there were not that many of the… lightly dressed people so I don't have to apologize to my girlfriend too much…

"I'm not sure which area you're from-" 4S began, catching my attention. "But this is the Resistance Base lead by Anemone. It houses mostly resistance members but occasionally harbors Yorha like myself. Though, since we're usually out on missions we don't get to stay here much." He shrugged, I briefly wondered what Yorha was, but didn't get a chance to ask as he turned to me. "There is not much to say really. It has some shops and essentials, but that's it. Anyway, I need to get back on patrol myself. Anemone should be at the command center. Shouldn't be too hard to find, alright?"

Wait… is he going to just leave it like that?

"Well, I'll see you sometime." He turned and I… may or may not have panicked.

"Wait!" My voice pitched upward as I watched him head out the way we came in. I'm… going to get so lost…

* * *

That's a rap. Thanks for joining us today. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to next weeks!

Also, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone whose reviewed so far. Know that all your reviews mean a lot to me. I'm sorry I don't get a chance to respond to them but just know I have been reading them. (Some multiple times.) So I do appreciate it.

I'll see you all next week!


	6. Chapter 6

Thankfully, for my sanity, he must have heard me shout. 4S drew to a stop, looking over his shoulder in surprise. I hurried over to him and, grabbed his hand, ignoring the multiple gazes directed toward me from others that had heard my, somewhat, desperate plea.

"Um… can you tell me where I could find her?" I spoke up. He looked at the held hand before nodding and leading me through the small plaza off to one side. I let out a breath of relief as I pulled my hand away from his. He briefly glanced over to my hands a strange expression crossing his face, visible even with the visor, before turning forward. Not much longer after that we arrived at a tent area that was set up that looked like an old fashioned command center. In the middle was a table decorated with a map and multiple pins. In front of the table, examining it closely, was a young woman, cloaked in green with clothes that looked much finer than some of the others around here, and wasn't all black. The clothes themselves wasn't what surprised me, it was how well they seemed to be made and put together, not like the scraped together articles most people here seemed to be wearing.

She looked up upon our approach and spotted me before glancing at 4S in confusion.

4S seemed to realize. "I found him on one of my patrols being attacked by a goliath class. I believe his motor functions may be damaged along with his NFCS."

"Did you not do a check up?"

4S hesitated glancing over to me before shrugging. "I didn't feel it was necessary. He was communicating properly and all other systems seem functional, plus there is no visible indication of a logic virus. Due to our decision to return here, I felt there was no need."

Anemone nodded "Thank you 4S. As for your duties. How is data acquisition coming?"

"As usual, ma'am. I'll send my report in a few minutes once I compile what data I have."

"That'll suffice," she said, before turning to me. I watched 4S disappear before rounding on the woman who must be Anemone.

"I've never seen your type before. Where are you from?"

"First… can I ask where I am?" I interrupted, so tired and done with not knowing what was going on and where I was. She blinked in confusion before gesturing and pointing at the map. I hesitantly walked over and peered down. It was heavily faded and ripped, but I could sort of tell it was a map, if one I didn't really recognize. Then again, parallel world and all. She pointed to an area that might have once been japan, but then Hawaii was right next to it and North America was literally a hop, skip, and jump so I haven't a clue. And no, I'm well aware of map scaling, they are obviously going to look close together on a map, but in this case it almost appeared as if they were touching, the ocean much wider between modern North America and Europe. Hopefully, it was just my eyes playing tricks on me from fatigue.

"Right now, we are stationed in the ruined city off the pacific coast, about ten miles inland. I would ask where you are from, but from your previous statement I would have to say you don't know." I blinked and jerked up upon noticing how close she was, catching her eyes as she examined me quietly. "You… what are you?" she whispered softly. "Are you really an android?"

I blinked, suddenly feeling a bit worried and confused. "No…" I admitted, causing her to tense up, her hand twitched before she let out a breath and frowned.

"If you aren't an android and not a machine then…" her brow furrowed in confusion.

Then… wouldn't it be obvious? I mean… "Are you an android?" I couldn't help but ask, catching her attention. She glanced around before gesturing for me to follow. I blinked before following after her into a small alcove off to one side. I'm guessing it was used for more private meetings, I felt my stomach twist and a faint rumble sounded from it, which caught her attention.

She turned to me, arms crossed. "Yes… Now tell me. What are you?"

"What do you mean?" I groaned, frustrated. "What even is an android? You look way too human to be an android, even if it is…" I trailed off as a strange expression flitted onto her face.

"What do you mean… too human?" Her voice sounded tight, tension exuding from her frame. Her posture was so stiff I almost pictured one of those cardboard cut-outs. As stupidly funny as the thought was, it did not help my current predicament. "And that sound…"

"Just… aren't androids supposed to be facsimile's of humanity?" I'm not a mechanic or anything like I said, but even I knew the basics… somewhat. We didn't really have advanced AI's back at home, but they were definitely well on the way to creating them. I remember once reading a news article about some robot that would follow simple verbal commands and sometimes respond if prompted but… the person before me - the way she moved, her facial expressions, even her voice all screamed human. Though now that I was paying attention, I could just barely note a stiffness to her posture, unattainable by any normal human, the way her eyes had a sharper, almost glass-like look to them. I glanced out toward the main center pub and than… I saw it.

A human… no, an android limped in through the main gates, being rushed to a medical ward that I hadn't seen earlier. Their leg was completely gone, part of the skin ripped off. Metal and wires gleamed and sparked in the light.

I quickly turned back as horror and shock slowly fell onto Anemone's face. "You… you can't be…" She breathed, her locked arms falling to her side as she took a step forward.

I promptly took a step back and she jolted, as if realizing what she was doing. She shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. "How is this possible?"

"What? How is what possible?" I snapped, feeling a hint of fear and loads of irritation well up in me. Will someone tell me what the he-

"You're human…"

My thought process stilled as she spoke, her tone almost reverent. I stared at her before furrowing my brow. "Of course…" I spoke up, confused beyond belief. Part of me had realized this was where the conversation was heading, but another part… well…

She slowly crumbled back against the wall, staring at the sky as her hands clenched the cement. "My… I can't believe it…"

She took a deep breath, seeming to steady herself before pushing away, returning to a professional atmosphere. "Alright, as much as I would like to speak with you about this, I understand the implications of what you bring up." She grimaced. "I will need to speak with YorHa to figure out what they want done-"

"I don't really-" I spoke up and she cut me off with a look. I pursed my lips before shaking my head. "Look, I can't stay here. I only came to find out if you were friendly or not. But then… then I find out you're not even human-"

"Of course we're not, other then you, there are no humans left on earth." Anemone's spoke up, her voice soft.

Wait… what? My brain shut down at her words as I just stared at her, fish mouth open… or was it mouth open like a fish? My brain wasn't really computing that well at the moment. No humans left on earth… no humans?

How?

"What… what happened?" I choked out, my thoughts flickering to my sister and the others, waiting for me.

Anemone let out a sigh, glancing around the camp. "Look, I can't speak with you long, we're already drawing quite a bit of attention." She hesitated before letting out a breath. "I want you to look for two red-haired androids named "Popola" and "Devola". They know more about humans than I do. They should be returning from a mission soon so wait by the entranceway… and stay out of sight if you can." She spoke the last words softly. As she walked past. For a brief moment, she hesitated before she placed a hand on my head and gently ruffled my hair. As she passed she spoke, voice filled with emotions. "Thank you… for reminding me…"

Not a moment later, she was past and resuming her normal duties as another android came running up to her, papers laden in their arms. I could see, even from here, that she had plastered a neutral expression over her face, just like when I first met her.

I blinked and, I think more on autopilot than anything, I headed out of the camp toward the entrance. Like she instructed, I sat down and stared out, lost in thought. Humanity was gone? So there really was a world where humanity just… doesn't exist? It was unfathomable. Maybe she didn't tell me something? She said nowhere on earth. We did have people already on the moon back home and exploring even farther… so maybe…

It was a feeble thought, but I held on to it as I waited. Finally, after some time and many androids flitting back and forth through the gate, I spotted two androids who looked practically like twins, flaming red hair adorning their faces.

I blinked, standing up before wincing as pins and needles trailed up my legs and my side screamed at me. I cast a look around before waving toward them. They froze, blinking in surprise before scanning the area. The straight-haired girl gently grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her over.

I know they were androids, but as I got a good look at them, all I could see were two beautiful woman. My thoughts flashed to my girlfriend and pain lanced through my chest. I withheld the grimace and let out a breath. Well, that's what I get for letting my hormones get away from me for a moment. Shit, nows not the time.

"Hello… are you Devola and Popola by any chance?" I figured it was them but…

"Yeah? Did you need something?" The wavy haired twin spoke up, voice edged with wariness and suspicion.

I raised my hand quickly, waving. "I spoke with Anemone, she said to wait for you out here because you could help me with something."

The two exchanged glances before the straight-haired twin spoke up, gently placing her hand on her sisters arm. "Alright, what can we do for you?" I could see the glare from the other twin, but ignored it.

I gulped, unsure of why I was so nervous, only to realize I knew exactly why. I was human in a world of machines. Yikes…

"She said you two would know more about humans than her…"

"Well… we do. Why do you ask?"

I hesitated before taking a breath. I quickly looked around before leaning forward. "My friends… they need help and I don't know who to ask and everyone here is an android. She said to talk with you because you might now how to help-"

"What do you mean… of course everyone here is an android." Devola frowned as Popola examined me quietly. After a moment her eyes widened and she reached forward. I almost jerked, surprised as she lightly touched the side of my face. She stared at me for a long time, checking my eyes, my hair, her fingers grazing over each part before she slowly pulled back, shock clear as daylight on her face. I have no idea what she was actually looking for, but she must have found it.

"No way…" she breathed, tears trailing down her cheeks. Devola reached forward, following the same pattern before backing up, staring at her hands it what appeared to be numb silence.

"I… get there are no humans on earth. Anemone told me but… there are still other humans… right?" my voice must have given away my hope, a pleading tone invading every word. "Because if not my friends… we have a lot of injured and I'm worried." The twins jerked before exchanging strange expressions.

After a moment seemed to pass between them, they turned. "They are on the moon." The straight-haired twin spoke up before shaking her head. "Sorry, my name is Popola, this is my sister, Devola. You said that you have friends? More… like you?"

"Al... Alister, but please, call me Al… and yes… a little ways away from here." I responded automatically, even as my thoughts raced. They were on the moon, like I thought. Thank the heavens we weren't alone on this world. "Look… can you help me?"

The two seemed to exchange a silent conversation before Devola leaned forward, her tears quickly wiped away. "Lead us." Devola spoke, voice harsh. I jerked in surprise before nodding. I could see Popola flicking through a screen, much as 4S did, muttering before sighing in relief. She hurried after us.

All three of us left through the entrance, getting a few suspicious glances. I ignored it all as I headed back the way I came, thoughts churning a mile a minute, wondering. I jerked, realizing and almost slapped my head. Quickly pulling out my phone, I dialed and waited.

To my utmost relief it connected. "Al, where are you? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine. I have two…medics in tow." I hesitated, "Anyway, I'll be back as soon as I can, hang tight, okay?"

"Alright… but hurry. I think some of those robots have started to notice where we are-"

Before I could say anything Devola ripped the phone from my grip. "The Machines?" Her voice was snappish and filled with worry. "What are they doing right now?"

What the, how did- right… it was in walkie talkie format and she was probably watching me like a hawk, of course she would notice.

"Er… who-"

"Just tell me, my sister and I are coming to help with your friend."

"Oh… right… uh…" There was a faint humming of conversation. I huffed, but didn't argue as they held the phone, pace increasing nominally.

Boy could these androids run. I'm working on pure adrenaline right now and I'm going to collapse.

"Right now they are mostly moving around the base in groups of two or three, mostly these small variations, but every so often we've seen a human-sized ones pass outside… it's become too dangerous to leave."

I could see Popola biting her lip as Devola cursed. She glanced over to Popola. "Are there any Resistance members in the direction we're going?"

"Not that I know of, and I don't… wait, there might be one Yorha group, I heard that they were supposed to be heading back soon."

"Good enough, see if you can get through to them." Devola tossed the phone to Popola, disconnecting at the same time before looking at me. Maybe she noticed the tiredness, or the way I was stumbling, but she slid to a halt, quickly grabbing me as I almost face-planted.

"Have you gotten any rest lately?" She asked, voice quivering yet soft. I shook my head, eyes ahead. I needed to get to my sister… I needed to help them…

"Just been running…" Wow, I think even my voice is a little more slurred than normal. "Day? Two?"

Devola cursed before squatting down, next thing I knew, my arms were wrapped around the woman's shoulders, legs locked around her waist and head on her back. I could already feel us moving and hear conversation, but I think my tired mind finally caught up with me.

I was out before we even made it ten more steps down the street.

* * *

 _And that's a wrap folks._

It seems our little Alister has met with some big names. Will the three of them arrive before anything happens?

Stay tuned and I'll see you all next week!


	7. Chapter 7

I jerked awake, looking around wildly. Where was I? I could feel a loping movement and spotted red hair blowing past my cheek. I went to pull a hand up to rub my eyes, only to quickly loop my arms around her neck once more as I realized Devola was carrying me. "You're awake…" She spoke up, keeping her voice low. "Good. I'm going to need to set you down, we're approaching the location where the call originated from."

Oh… so that's how they knew where to go. Wait…

"Call? You could track it?"

"Yes. And apparently, we're not the only ones."

I gulped as I turned, looking past us as we slid to a halt, hiding behind a slab of building. The last bit of building left before the road to the town hall…

Fear shot through my veins as I spotted Machines milling around, as if hound dogs. Had they traced our calls? Shit, had we led them right to us? The doors were completely boarded, no light shining through to the inside. I hope they were still okay inside.

"Any luck?"

Popola glanced over before scanning the crowd. "We could probably take a few, but this many… the units in question are still a half hour out. They said they would increase their pace, but…"

"We'll keep an eye on things, if anything happens we'll jump in." Devola turned to me, reaching into her pocket before pulling out what looked to be a gun it held a metallic sheen to it with a long barrel and a leather grip. "Look, it's not much, but you need to defend yourself. Don't shoot unless absolutely necessary. Understood?"

I swallowed heavily, deciding to listen to the woman beside me as I grasped the item tightly. The cold leather and bits of metal felt strange against my skin, alien, even.

The next few minutes - or hours, it was hard to tell - ticked by with my walking speed compared to these Androids running, which was saying something. I waited as patiently as I could, wishing I could call Cath and the others to check on them. However, I knew that wouldn't work since Popola now had my phone.

Suddenly, as if time stood still, all the machines froze at once. Popola and Devola exchanged a look and, the next moment, they surged forward. I didn't even see them earlier, but blades materialized in their hands as they cut through the front horde of Machines. Their cuts were ruthless, clean, and precise and honestly awe-inspiring. Yet, it was terrifying, watching the waves of Machine's descend on them. My arms shook as I held the gun, knowing not to shoot, but so desperately wanting to help. Over the next few minutes, I could see them tiring out, grim looks of determination shining on their faces even as I heard the occasional pounding on the metallic doors. I didn't realize I'd bit my lip until I felt the blood trail down my chin. I forced myself to open my clenched mouth wondering.

 _Where was the back-up? They had called some, right? That Yorha unit or whatever they called it?_

A screech filled the air, followed by an explosion from the opposite end of the killing field. My head snapped that way, only to see machine parts flying every direction conceivable. Explosions rang out, clearing out quite a bit of the area, at least of machines. I could see grins on Devola and Popola's faces as, not even a minute or two later, the machine's dwindled to almost nothing. In the remains of the machines stood two people, a beautiful woman with short cut white hair, dressed in a tight-fitting black dress that parted on one side exposing her thigh and a young boy, similar to the one I met earlier, with short white hair and a curious, relieved expression on what I could see of his face behind the blindfold. He had a sword on his back, something I hadn't seen from the earlier boy and the woman had two.

I shook my head, letting out a breath and straightened. They were safe, thank the hea-

 _Clunk._

I felt a chill up my spine.

"Kill…"

I whipped around, firing in the same movement as something sliced through where I'd just stood. I managed to avoid a direct hit, but I still took the shockwave which, alone, launched me over the side and hurtling toward the group. I heard two cries, and then felt someone catch me around the waist, holding me close as I ground to a halt. I groaned as pain, so much pain flared up my side. I was flung that far by a freaking shockwave?

"Are you okay?" the one holding me asked, voice tight with what was almost probably... pain? My head was a little fuzzy at the moment.

I could hear sounds behind me, followed by an explosion as I sat up, holding my head. Devola sat under me, pulling herself up and grimacing, her arm bent in a way that was definitely not natural.

"What about you?"

She simply shook her head, glancing toward the doorway.

I snapped over before stumbling to my feet and racing to the doorway. "Cath! Everyone! Are you there! Open up, please!"

I pounded on the door, hearing it rattle.

"Who is that?" A young voice spoke up behind me, filled with curiosity, but I ignored it, banging again.

"Al?"

I let out a heavy breath of relief, leaning my forehead against the metal. "Yeah, it's me… is everyone safe?"

A silence covered the area, causing my throat to tighten.

"We're all here…"

I wasn't sure what the hesitation was for but I didn't mind, letting out a breath I couldn't help but grin a little. "Hey Cath. Mind opening the door?"

"Er... about that..."

I pursed my lips. Not liking the sound of this one bit, "Cath?"

"Yeah, I kind of panicked and, well, I can't open it. With the banging the robot did and everything it got crumbled in. I've tried."

I groaned. What now?

Devola and Popola must have heard the conversation. They exchanged glances before heading around the building, checking for another entrance. I doubted they would find anything but I didn't stop them. The two yorha that joined the battle earlier stood back, watching. The woman seemed indifferent, but the boy - I could have sworn he was showing the most emotion I've seen yet. He hurried forward to check on me and the door.

"Whose in there?" He asked. "Maybe 2B and I can help?"

"If you could…" I wasn't sure why he was so willing to help since we'd just met. I mean, I could understand Popola and Devola. They knew I was human and considering the lack of humans… well… then again who knows. Maybe humans were banished to the moon, but I doubted it.

He perked up before hurrying in front of the door, a strange screen lighting up before his face as he typed so quickly it made my head spin. "Alright, there is a structural weakness here and here." He pointed out both locations before continuing. "Be careful though, shift too high or too low…"

"It's fine, 9S." 2B, the woman from before, strode forward with a monotone voice. Her movement was fluid but... and her face, what I could see of it, was perfectly neutral, not a single twitch of a smile or frown, nothing. Ironic, I thought, that the one with the most emotion I'd seen was with the one with the least amount… go figure.

9S pouted as Devola and Popola returned from their overview of the building. Devola was tending to her arm, helping when she could. As Popola and the other two androids worked at the entrance.

A minute or two later the entranceway fell apart, revealing the dusty interior. I raced inside, not bothering to do much else. Before anything else I found myself spotting my sister. I quickly swiped her up into a tight hug, more than a little relieved that at least she was alive. I heard footsteps and looked as the others quickly gathered around, checking me over. There was Emma and Rebecca, Henry and Gren and even Machael was up and about, though leaning heavily on Gren…

"Where's…"

Cath winced and, as if the others realized they parted, Rebecca laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. "We couldn't do much… he… well… the coughing from earlier… it was an infection and…"

I stilled, my gaze turning toward the last person in the room… Mr. Burgess. Honestly, he looked like he was sleeping… if it wasn't for the fact that he seemed utterly pale, lifeless and without any movement. I bit my lip, feeling the cut I made earlier smart in pain. I'd been hoping, hoping heavily that we could all make it out alive but…

"He was already getting on in age and that cough…" Cath spoke up softly and I nodded before turning to the others with a faint smile.

"I'm glad you all are still alive." I turned toward the doorway, spotting Devola's and Popola's tearful faces. Their gaze lingered on Mr. Burgess, anguish painted clearly over their entire body before they wrenched their gaze away and turned to us. Devola seemed to steel herself, examining us all before spotting Machael. Why were they so upset? They didn't know Mr. Burgess... so why did I see anguish... and regret? It just seemed strange to me.

"Alright, come outside everyone, we need to move before more Machines show up."

I nodded, gesturing for them to follow. They exchanged glances before hesitantly following after me into the sunlight. I could see them squint. "Cath, stay here with these two, they can take care of everyone, I need to speak with those two." I gestured with my head to the two who came to our rescue, all dressed in black, curious but unmoving.

She spared me a glance before nodding and gesturing for the others to follow Devola and Popola as they busied about checking everyone over.

Hopefully, if we could, there might be a chance we can bury Mr. Burgess but… for now…

I turned to the two YorHa and walked over. I extended a hand, a gentle smile finding its way onto my face. It hurt, knowing Mr. Burgess was dead and we'd been so close to getting him treated. I mentally kicked myself that I hadn't searched harder or pushed just that little bit more. I knew he was sick, we could all see it and we were all in a similar weak state but… The woman looked down at my extended hand, a hint of confusion flashing on her face. The boy, however, perked up and grasped my hand in both of his. "It's nice to meet you, though, are you okay? Seemed you were thrown pretty far." Even as he asked me I found his fingers grasping mine tightly and I couldn't help but wince.

"9S, let him go." 2B spoke up with a faint sigh in her voice.

The boy yelped, letting go as I shook out my hand, wondering if I would have lost my fingers there. Damn, androids were _way_ too strong. I shook my head, looking up as 9S pouted before turning back to me. "Well anyway, sorry about that. The name's 9S, this is my partner, 2B. We saw you get thrown by that Goliath class earlier, that's why I wanted to check on you. I would have asked, but we were busy with rescuing your friends."

Goliath class, that's the second time I've heard that. "Yeah, I'm fine, Devola caught me."

"Why did she need to catch you?" 2B spoke up with a frown. "Your body should have been able to withstand the impact, you only got a grazing…"

"Come on, 2B, it still would have hurt! Can you blame him?" 9S pointed out before glancing over to the crowd. I cast half an eye over, spotting Popola examining Machael's wound as Devola worked through the rest. "Anyway, who are you guys? Lost resistance members?"

"Er… something like that." I turned back to face the two of them with a wince. "We just arrived here recently…"

"Oh?" 9S perked up. "What branch are you from? I haven't seen your type before." He leaned forward, examining me closely. He was incredibly different from the last one I met, 4S. It was… strange to say the least.

"Um… An older branch."

9S frowned but pulled back anyway, letting out a sigh. "Fair enough. Good thing 2B and I happened to catch that radio signal. We'd just been returning from a mission when I saw it. We got here just in time, didn't we?" He glanced to 2B who simply nodded, observing Popola and Devola.

"Do you know those two?"

"Hm? Oh!" I nodded, a faint smile on my face. "They helped me. I went to the Resistance base looking for help and they came with me. I kind of owe them a lot."

2B hummed softly before turning and walking in the direction of the Resistance base. "Come, we need to submit that report. It seems those two can handle themselves now that the main threat is eliminated."

"Oh, come on 2B! That can wait a few more minutes. Let's bring these guys with us!"

She stared back at 9S before turning toward the group. If it wasn't for the visor, I would have almost thought she was rolling her eyes. She let out a breath. "Fine…"

9S smiled broadly before hurrying over to the rest, pulling me along.

What was with these androids and grabbing me? Geez!

About a few steps in, 9S froze, his gaze flicking to my wrist before he shook his head and continued on, a little more slowly.

Huh… something to think about. As I stepped up to the group, Popola pulled away, letting out a relieved huff. "I'll need to give him some medication but he should be fine after some-" She cut herself off, glancing over to 9S before continuing. "Some decent rest. Whoever took care of him did a good job."

I could almost see Gren puff up with pride. I felt a movement and turned to see 9S drop my hand and slip away into the building. It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed. Henry came over before I could stop him, slipping inside, but Emma I was able to wave off, gesturing to the others before following after Henry. She seemed to get the hint.

We stepped inside the building, watching as 9S squatted in front of Mr. Burgess. His hand was checking his wrist, going over his body, like a curious dog. Did he suspect? How?

It was such a terrible way to think, really. But my brain kept reminding me that this was an Android, not a human. I wonder if the others have figured that out yet, considering how human everyone seems… I shook my head as Henry stepped over. 9S stilled. "Oh… sorry…" his voice was somewhat quiet as he turned. "He's… one of yours…"

Whether he was asking if he was one of my comrades or a human like me I wasn't sure. But I kept the answer simple. "Yes… just as you probably suspect."

9S stiffened, after a moment his hand slowly clenched as the other pulled away, as if shocked. I turned my face away as a thump sounded before me. "No way…" I heard movement and looked back just as 9S jerked into my face, causing Henry to cry out. He gripped my wrist tightly, causing me to wince.

"Hey! Let him go!" Henry yelped, grabbing onto 9S and pulling.

The boy ignored him, entranced by watching his own fingers touch my wrist… or more specifically the artery of my wrist.

"You have a pulse… You're…"

I winced as Henry pounded his fist on 9S's hand, causing the boy to yelp and pull back as if seared. To my surprise, Henry then stepped in front of me, hands out on either side. "Don't touch him! You were hurting him!"

I blinked before letting out a breath. I placed one hand on his shoulder, causing him to glance back. "Thanks Henry, but I'm fine."

"I… I hurt you?" 9s's question was so soft and heartbroken I almost couldn't look at him. I turned as he backpedalled, staring at his hands. "I… I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay? I just was checking something and… well… Please tell me you aren't hurt!"

"I'm fine!" I quickly interjected, noting the way he was starting to hyperventilate a bit. "Just… don't squeeze as hard next time, alright?"

He seemed to be taking deep gulps of breath before relaxing. "Right… right… sorry." He stared back at Mr. Burgess as Henry looked between us in confusion. "Um... mister... what do you mean? What is Al?"

9S blinked, looking utterly confused. I sighed and squatted down, turning Henry to face me. "Henry, I know it doesn't make sense right now, but I'll explain everything later with the others once we get someplace safe, alright? Just... don't mention to anyone that we are human, okay? Promise?"

He looked startled, and almost a little scared, but he nodded. I smiled, ruffling his hair, before standing back up. 9S watched us quietly, or so it seemed with the blindfold still blocking his gaze.

9S looked at him before turning to me. "Are you the only one who knows? At least, knows what we are and all?"

I nodded. "The first android I ever met was 4S who brought me to the Resistance base. Devola and Popola and you two are the first androids anyone else has ever seen."

"Oh…" He shook his head and turned back toward's Mr. Burgess. "I see... I… I may not know much of human customs, but I do know that you often wish to bury the deceased if you can… is that true?"

"You're not wrong…" I let out a breath, debating. While it would be nice to give him a grave, this wasn't his world, his realm. With no humans left on earth, who would watch him? These androids? No…

"Another custom…" I hesitantly brought up. "Was to cremate the body."

Henry jerked, looking up at me in shock and I winced.

"Cremate… as in, turn to ash? They would really do that to their own?" 9S stared in a hint of horror and awe.

"Only after they were thoroughly confirmed dead, just like we make sure they are deceased before we bury them. This isn't his home so…"

"Oh…" 9S paused, confusion flickering on his face for a moment before he sighed. "Right, the moon. Humans really are complex…"

I just chuckled because... was he really wrong?

Humans have always been different, unique. It's practically built into our very being. So then... what does that make androids?

* * *

Thank you for joining me this chapter. And we finally get a chance to meet our favorite duo, well, at least one of my favorites. (There are a lot of good characters, what can I say?) and our little scanner has already figured things out, let's see how this goes, shall we?

Next week!


	8. Chapter 8

"9S! We need to move."

9S jerked, his head swiveling back and forth before a faint curse slipped from his lips as a light pulse, similar to what I felt with the machine the other day, slipped past me. "Crap, my sensors are messed up because of the desert sand, I didn't even realize that many were near!" He shook his head and jerked forward, scooping up Henry, who let out a startled cry before grabbing my hand and dashing out the door.

"Wait! Where-"

"We're about to be swarmed, we need to move." He spoke up, as we slid outside, only for me to see what he was talking about. In the distance, I could see a full seam of metal, like a sea. It was not inspiring in the slightest. 2B already seemed to be in a conversation with someone, a screen in front of her as she took hold of Emma and Gren. Devola, left with only one arm, helped along Rebecca as Popola carried Machael. I glanced back, hating the fact that I was leaving Mr. Burgess behind but… looking over the sea of machines bearing down on us, I figured fleeing was probably the better option. Then again, the androids didn't give us much choice. Devola, Popola and 9S shot a distant look toward the building before taking off in a sprint. 2B already having lead the way. It wasn't long until I found myself flung over 9S's shoulder, much to my chagrin and the others in similar states of holding as the landscape blurred past us. We were running far faster than human speeds and I had no doubts that the others noticed.

I was mostly just shocked how the tiny 9S was carrying both myself and Henry, even if Henry was only a child. I heard screeches behind us, along with explosions. Every so often, as we passed through the city, I caught a glimpse of a team of black clothed androids heading in the opposite direction. Probably more Yorha going to fight the machines. The trip that had taken me almost a day and a half was cut down to barely an hour or two, making me somewhat… no, very jealous of these things. How did mankind manage to make these kinds of androids so advanced? I spotted the metallic walls just as we slowed, sliding past the barrier as Resistance members scrambled to secure the hold and set up a defensive wall. As soon as we were dropped off, 2B turned to 9S. "The Commander has told all troops to report to the front lines. We have to go." 9S glanced back at us worriedly,

"We'll be fine," I muttered. "Anemone, Popola, and Devola all know what we are. We'll be safe."

He let out a breath before nodding and hurrying after 2B. Who seemed to be ignoring the exchange. They were gone before we could really blink.

"What the hell was that?" Gren coughed, hands on her knees. "They don't even seem human!"

Thank the heavens she didn't say that too loud and that everyone was busy with preparations. "I'll explain later, but please, keep your voices down for now, okay? Now, lets get inside." I turned to Popola and Devola who both nodded, staring out over the landscape.

"We need to get some things prepared as well, I have a feeling we'll be dealing with a lot of casualties soon."

I grimaced, not able to argue.

We hurried inside to find the camp mostly deserted, most of the androids either out and about fortifying the defenses or busy with the front lines. I could see a few here and there too injured to fight or high level personal giving orders. "You all, don't ask any questions, alright? Let me do the talking, I've met the leader here."

Rebecca nodded, holding Henry close as Machael stared off to one side. I didn't have to look to know he was staring at one of the android shopkeepers who was working on his leg. We hurried through the plaza toward the bustling tent.

"Anemone!"

The woman, hearing my call, turned and let out a breath of relief before straightening. "It's good to know you are alright. So, are these your friends?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, that's not important right now. The machines must have realized you're here, or at least, were there. We're counting a large unit descending on the area outside this branch. I've contacted all nearby Yorha and fighter divisions but…" She pursed her lips. "Hopefully they can send some flight units in, or else it will be a tough battle."

I had to agree, but didn't voice it out loud. "Is there any place for us to stay until this blows over?"

Anemone nodded. "Two Yorha operatives were supposed to come back today. I heard that they took down a large force in the desert and so was going to bestow them one of our last rooms. Hopefully they don't mind you staying in there until they arrive."

"Which two?" I couldn't help but ask, mentally sighing in relief.

"You wouldn't know them, 2B and 9S."

"Wait, them?" Emma spoke up, shocked.

Anemone blinked before peering at me with narrowed eyes.

"They… may have helped us get here and one of them may have figured us out?" I spoke it more as a question, feeling my features contort into a strange grimace.

"Of course they did, because why not…" Anemone groaned. "Alright, hopefully they don't say anything. Which one?"

"9S"

"… I see…" Anemone pursed her lips before shaking her head and tossing me a key. I caught it, fumbling a bit. "There's not much to the room, only two beds, but it is still more accessible than the other rooms that we have."

"Thank you." I looked each of my comrades in the eye. While a few simply nodded, confused, Gren and Machael were staring at me with suspicion. Henry was simply staring, his mouth in a thin line as he held tightly to his mother. Not that I blame him. I wish I could do the same in all honesty.

I shook my head and glanced at the key, noting Anemone was already busy barking orders to a few of the other androids. "Come on guys, I'll explain once we get into the room."

That seemed to pacify them enough to follow after me.

As Anemone said, the room was pretty lackluster. Some storage, two beds, and a table with another storage rack separating the two sides. Still, a bed was a bed. My wound flared as I finally let myself relax and I held in a yelp of pain. Machael lay down on the other bed while the girls gathered around the table, picking up makeshift items for seats. The room was small, so my voice would still reach them, even from the bed and I would bet the room was probably sound proof since I didn't hear anything from outside.

"Okay…" I let out a breath before leaning against the back wall, hand to my side as I tried to get comfortable.

"What the hell is going on." Gren cut in, glaring at me. "You go traipsing off to who-knows-where for a whole DAY and then more of those things start showing up, then you contact us saying your coming back with help, only to appear with those two red-haired woman, a woman who could pass for a pin-up model, and a boy that could carry both you and Henry yet looks to only be in his early teens… and now we're here in… what… a Resistance camp with MORE of those robots bearing down on us?"

"That… pretty much sums it up actually." Obviously no one liked to hear that so I quickly continued, "Okay! There is more. Those robots are what the… people here call Machines. Though I guess I use the word 'people' lightly." Was I really going to tell them? I kind of had too…

"They're not human, are they?" Machael spoke up.

I nodded.

"That's bullshit, they look completely human, I saw the emotion on their faces, everything!" Gren cut in, pissed. "And even the ones with the blindfolds you could still see the way they stood and carried themselves! How could they NOT be human?"

"Then how do you explain the fact that four of them, one who was even injured, carried all of us here? One, understandable if they've received enhancements, but all four?" Machael asked, voice even.

I noted as Cath grimaced at his words, pushing the thought out of my head I turned just in time to see Gren snap her mouth shut.

As much as I wasn't fond of him bringing up enhancements, I still let out a breath, thankful for Machael's interruption. Unfortunately, I was a bit annoyed at what I have left to explain. "You are right. In actuality, every person you see here, besides us, are Androids…" I paused. Taking a look around the room, I noted the shock and disbelief on everyones faces.

"But why?" Emma spoke up, hesitant. Cath had seated herself on the bed beside me, curling into my side, shaking. I held her close for a moment, steeling my thoughts.

"I'm guessing… to fight the machines. From what I've heard, all of humanity, or what is probably left of it, is up on the Moon."

"The Moon?" Rebecca muttered as the others exchanged glances. "That would fit with the level of decay of the city, if they all left for the Moon and the androids here were fighting in our stead…"

"But then, what if they find out we're human?" Henry spoke up, probably thinking of what happened earlier with 9S.

"I'm… not really sure. They probably don't want to harm us but… you know how curiosity goes." I shrugged, thinking of the old adage of how curiosity killed the cat. I just really hoped we weren't actually the cat in that analogy.

"So we're the only humans on earth. Machines dominate the world fighting against humanoid androids who were sent by the humans on the Moon to do their dirty work and make sure the machines are destroyed…" Cath muttered before letting out a sigh and sitting up with a frown. "This sucks…"

I stared at her for a moment before letting out a snort, followed by a hollow laugh. All that news, all the fear we'd been feeling, the sudden loss of one of our own and she… My laughter caught the others off guard, but soon they were all joining me, a strange morbid laughter that filled the room in a melancholy fashion.

If humanity was on the moon… than how were we ever going to go home?

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter~**

All your reviews are amazing and I really appreciate each and every one. Speaking of, I know it's a shorter chapter today and I'm sorry about that, but this seemed like a fairly good point to stop at.

(I'll do better next time, I promise.)

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and see you next week!


	9. Chapter 9

Finally our laughter subsided and we all decided we needed a good long rest. After making sure the door was locked and barricaded we all gathered into groups, laying on the bed or floor accordingly. I ended up sharing a bed with Machael. I would have argued, if it wasn't for the fact that I was actually exhausted, still very sore and just plain done with today. Plus, sharing a bed, even with a stranger, was still better than sleeping on the floor, especially with a healing wound in my side, which, by the way, still ached.

Emma and Gren shared the other bed with Henry sleeping at the foot of the bed. Cath and Rebecca ended up with the floor, though neither seemed to mind, collapsing practically where they stood. Sleep enveloped all of us… not so much like a gentle wave but as a rushing tsunami similar to the force of machines baring down on the Resistance's door.

It was a wonder we slept at all.

However, when I awoke, I was already feeling much better. I could feel a warm heat next to me and, feeling more than a little tired and just a little bit out of it, I couldn't help but grip tightly to the warmth. It reminded me of home, of being hugged by Lydia, my beautiful girlfriend, of being buried in the sheets as Cath woke me up to…

I blinked blearily as I came face to face with a boy that, I'll admit, I did not initially recognize. My first instinct was for my brain to freeze in place. My second and more volatile reaction was to let out a loud screech before pushing back and falling, unceremoniously, onto the ground with a crash, startling the others awake…

I was not proud to admit that…

"Al!" Cath was at my side in an instant, checking me over. "What happened? Are you alright."

"I'm fine. Just… just a dream…" Sure let's go with that.

"No, I think he was startled when he realized he was sleeping with me." Machael spoke up tiredly, sitting up, holding his head. "I remember we'd made those arrangements last night but… I guess we both must have forgotten."

"Really?" Cath spoke up, amused.

"Shut it…" I growled at both of them before pushing myself to my feet and looking around. "Machael, how are you feeling?"

"I'll admit, I am a bit better than before. Whatever that red-haired woman gave me seems to have helped. I no longer have a mind cracking headache if that means anything." He dropped his hand as the others stirred, complaining about my wake up call.

Whoops…

Cath, seeing my expression, chuckled weakly along with Machael before sobering. "Well, it is probably time to get up and check on whats going on outside." I nodded before looking over the others.

"Just to be sure, what do we want to do about… everything?"

Silence descended on the group.

"We should hold off telling them." Machael spoke up, thoughtfully, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. It was good to see he was coherent now, but…

"I agree." Emma piped up. "If we tell them, we won't know what will happen. Right now, they probably just think we're strange androids. After all, if there are no humans left on earth, how would they know the difference?"

"Our pulse." I spoke up, grimacing. "Some of the smarter ones would be able to tell from our word usage or our body, but all of them would be able to tell if they felt our pulse."

The group frowned.

"Could we… I don't know, make bracelets or something?" Cath leaned forward, curiosity clear on her face. "If not that then… long clothing?"

"Long clothing could work… if we had a change of clothes." Gren rolled her eyes, tugging at her blouse. Her nose curled up in disgust and she quickly dropped it. "I wouldn't mind a new set of clothes period… Should we find a new set of clothes and then worry about the pulse thing?"

"I think we might need to find something for it." Emma spoke up quietly. "We don't know what they will do to us if they know we're human, especially if all of them are on the moon."

Gren pursed her lips, before letting out a sigh. "Then, what? Do any of you guys have any suggestions? Because I'm clean out."

I bit my lip, glancing away. Honestly? I had no clue on what to do about that.

"Exactly, so… let's not worry about it and hope for the best."

We exchanged glances before finally nodding, that was all we could really do, honestly.

Satisfied at the decision she put her hands on her hips and grinned. "So we're androids, right?" Gren waved. "Seems like a fun challenge. So, do you happen to know the designations?"

"Not… really. We'll just have to go by what we're best suited for, and hope no one demands something we, humanly, can't do."

"I'm not too worried, I can probably just work as a mechanic, one that is specialized in keeping you all up to date." Machael shrugged.

"Just don't do regular check-ups." Gren rolled her eyes.

"What? You don't want me to do physical checks to make sure-"

"Oh gosh… he's a pervert…" Emma muttered as Gren's eyes sparkled in challenge.

"Oh ho…"

I rolled my eyes and went to turn to Rebecca, only to feel a hand on my shoulder.

I could almost feel the smirk on his lips as he spoke up and part of me wondered if this was really him, or if Machael was still dealing with a concussion. "Don't worry, I did my check up this morning for you, didn't know there were other cudd-"

I really wanted to deck him, but considering, "Okay, enough."

He chuckled, but pulled back, relenting. His expression sobered. "Now that the jokes are out of the way." He let out a breath. "Why don't we just mention we are androids, recently restarted and from the last time humans were on earth? We were set up in units and somehow ours survived all this time."

"I guess it will do…" I muttered before turning to the others, who shrugged. "So he's our mechanic, Gren is our medic, Emma is our biologist slash scientists which means…"

"I can be a defender." My sister shrugged and I gave her a death glare. She grimaced but gave me a hard look. "I'm very similar in appearance to a lot of the female androids around and while I can't fight in heels, I'm probably the most able to fight out of all of us. I'll simply say I'm rusty after… whatever many years its been."

I finally conceded after much debate, acknowledging that it would seem strange not to have a fighter in the group.

"I can be the guardian, and knowledge keeper…" Rebecca spoke up. "I wouldn't be surprised if there are androids specifically utilized for knowledge."

I wouldn't doubt it either, considering how quickly 9S was able to figure out what I was.

I glanced at Henry who bit his lip before speaking up quietly. "I can be a scout…" His voice was soft. I know we used him as a scout before and he was the one who brought it up but… this felt different somehow, more permanent.

"It would probably be one of the safest and most believable things for him…" Machael conceded though the reluctance in his voice was almost palpable.

I grimaced. "Alright… if you and Rebecca are okay with that." Rebecca seemed hesitant, but she eventually just let her head drop in resignation.

"Good, so everyone has their roles-"

"Not… everyone." Gren pointed out, a strange grin on her face.

"Oh… right." Cath leaned forward, her elbow on my shoulder. "So, dear brother, what sort of android are you?"

I gulped. I… honestly hadn't thought of it. My skill was in writing not… well… anything else. I had kind of done my own thing since we got here…

"Er… well…" Before I could say anything more there was a knock on the door. I jumped, not expecting it. Emma, the closest, walked over and opened it, peeking out. She quickly stepped aside letting in Anemone, much to my surprise. Anemone was carrying two bags over her shoulders, which she plopped down in front of us. "I figured you all could use a change of clothes. I also came to check up on you. Did you all have a good nights rest?"

"Yep!" Henry chimed in. "We were just talking about what Androids we would be."

"What… Androids?" Her utterly confused expression spoke volumes. "Why would you do that?"

"Well… don't we want to make sure they don't notice that we're human?" Gren asked, glancing toward the doorway that Emma must have closed when Anemone entered. "We figured-"

"That acting like androids would be sufficient." Anemone cut in a mix between bemused and just annoyed. "I'm just going to cut that idea down here. The Resistance members might not notice, but if you try to start giving designations or something to a yorha agent it's not going to end well for anyone. It's hard enough not to have people comment on the strangeness of a younger looking 'Android' as is." She let out a breath. "Well, other than that, it seems you are doing well. I'll send 9S to check on you since both Devola and Popola are still busy with the wounded-"

"Speaking of," Gren cut in. "Would you mind if we helped around the place a little? I can't just sit here all day twiddling my thumbs you know."

She frowned, mouthing some of the words before turning toward the door. "I guess, as long as there is an android nearby that is aware of your status. Anyway, I'm sorry I'm making this so short, but I really must be going. I do hope you don't mind."

"Right, right, sorry." I grinned sheepishly. "Go ahead, this will be enough for us and… thanks."

Anemone stiffened before quickly hurrying out the door. I watched her go before turning to the rest. "So… that idea is null and void… time to see if there is anything we can do around here?

It didn't take long for the others to agree to my idea. Gren and Emma wanted to help Devola and Popola while Rebecca, Henry and Cath were planning to examine some computers Emma had spotted when I was talking with Anemone. While Machael and I didn't end up with anything to do, we didn't mind.

Though, the next problem arose of where to change. Most of the group was girls with Machael and myself being the only exceptions, while my sister probably wouldn't care one way or another, something she's done before much to my chagrin, the others would.

So, deciding our next course of action would be to find someplace to change, we left.

Chaos. I hadn't realized with the soundproofing, but the other side looked like the end result of a battlefield, or at least, the medical base nearby. There were still people pouring in, varying stages of injury seen on all of them. I padded my way through the crowd, keeping an eye on everything. Near the medical tent I could see Popola and Devola working over time, the beds full on either side of them.

"Al! You're alright!" a voice caught my attention and I jerked around to see 9S running over, clasping me in a tight hug before just as quickly letting go. He looked tired, drained and worse for wear, but alive. 2B was right behind him.

"Of course I am…" I couldn't help but point out. "We were here the whole time."

"I know, but…" He glanced around at the android bustling back and forth before spotting our bags. "What are those for?"

"To get changed. Brother is being annoying and doesn't want to step outside for five minutes so that we can change."

"I thought you would want a shower first, sorry," I muttered, earning a childishly stuck out tongue.

"That… works for me too. I kind of need to get changed and take a shower, so I can show you the way. The desert sand is not fun to have stuck in your clothes, especially if you have to fight right after."

"I keep telling you that showers are inefficient. It's best to just change the parts accordingly." 2B finally spoke up, catching my attention. She'd been silent, up until this point.

"But showers are amazing! Come on 2B, doesn't it ever feel good to have the hot water hit you and take away all the tension?"

2B pursed her lips, the first sign of emotion I'd really seen on her yet. Finally she turned and stalked off. 9S chuckled, hurrying after her. So I guess she was going to the baths as well.

I'll admit, while the bathhouse was pretty basic, it was still nice with actual wooden doorways with stalls. Though there was no distinction between male and female…

Did androids technically even have a gender? I mean, it was obvious in appearance that 9S was a boy but… I shook my head, deciding not to think about it.

Machael, however, had no such qualms it seemed. "So, are androids actually gender-neutral?"

"Hm?" 9S hummed, stopping in front of a stall.

Realizing where this was going, along with most everyone else, I ducked into a stall and quickly stripped, turning the shower on full blast.

Due to my, rather rushed, actions I didn't hear what else Machael said. But the ensuing screech of "What! Why would you even ASK that?" was answer enough.

Ignoring the stammering and slamming of stall doors I relaxed as the hot water actually hit over me. I didn't think I would be able to take a shower in this dilapidated place but, lo and behold.

I swear I heard a faint moan at one point and decided it was probably better for my sanity not to question it.

I wasn't the first one to finish, but I definitely wasn't the last. Taking a towel that was seemingly waiting for me besides the changing area part of the shower I wrapped it around and stepped out, taking a look at my clothes.

I felt my eye twitch. "Cath?"

"Yes brother?" a sing song voice came from the other side, indicating that, indeed, my sister was done with her shower and, while I know I locked the door, considering the way the clothes were laying, she'd done a darn good job throwing it over.

IT being a long red dress with a cloak and some basic feminine undergarments. I promptly pushed it off, picking up the clothes I'd grabbed for myself. I swiftly changed, Glad to finally get into a decent change of clothes. It wasn't what I usually wear, but the pseudo tunic and pants tucked into ankle high boots was actually pretty comfortable and handy.

Cath took one look at me before pouting. "Oh, so you had remembered to grab your clothes in your made dash earlier… Shame…"

"I wouldn't have worn that anyway! I still had a towel, thank you!"

"What? I think he looks just fine." Gren waved and Emma simply nodded.

"You could always change back into the old clothes you know." Machael spoke up next, stepping out of his shower. I was somewhat surprised he was already done. He looked over the girls. "You know? You all look lovely in those clothes. It should help quite a bit."

"Don't we?" Cath preened before glancing him over. Much like myself he was dressed fairly simply, though he decided to wear a cape as well.

"Well…" Machael hummed before turning his gaze on 9S. "What is up with your get-up anyway? Are you trying to pull off some freakishly impressive bondage gear?"

"Bondage?" Poor guy looked utterly confused. "This is just what we usually wear. If you are talking about the visors, that actually enhances our-"

"Wait, so those blindfolds are visors?" Machael's previous lecherous glint was suddenly replaced with interest and curiosity. "May I see?"

The whiplash effect hit most of us, none more than 9S who seemed utterly baffled. "Um… Sure?" He slowly unwound it and pulled it down, exposing his eyes.

I heard a gasp from my right, noting Gren and Emma were beside me, gaze trained on his face.

I would admit, underneath the visor, the boy was handsome with sharp blue gray eyes and such expressive features. How could he be an android?

It was so strange to think about.

Machael glanced at him before taking the visor, flipping it over in his hands, gently feeling over the folds and bends. What he was looking for, I couldn't tell you, but he seemed entranced. "Are these sensors?"

9S perked up, leaning forward and pointing toward where Machael had stopped. "Yep! I'm surprised you knew that. This here is the spacial output for the-"

I turned away, realizing that the two were probably heading into a conversation that would make zero sense to me. Leaving them to their own devices, quite literally in this case, I looked around. The only people missing were Rebecca and Henry… Speaking of the two.

I spotted them off to the side. Rebecca was on one knee, adjusting Henry's clothes as Henry fidgeted uncomfortably. She stood up as I walked over and said, "Is everything alright?"

"It will do…" Rebecca hesitated, brushing over her clothes. She briefly glanced at the tattered remains of her blouse and pants before letting out a sigh, gently ruffling her son's hair.

I winced, looking at the tattered remains of my once usable jeans and jacket. At least I would have a viable change of underwear for a later date… but that was about it.

Rebecca blinked, looking behind me, which was all the warning I got before fabric slid over my eyes and I yelped. My hands darted up as the tie tightened behind my head. "What the hell!"

"Hey! Calm down, I wanted to try something!" Machael's voice rang behind me and I glared, though I knew it was pretty useless. "9S stated that it connected directly with his visual cortex. I know we don't have anything like that, but I was thinking we can make an improvised version. Give me a second."

I crossed my arms over my chest, unable to do much else… well, besides turn and punch him in the face which I was really relishing the idea of now that I thought about it.

"And why me?"

"Because none of the girls would let me do it to them and Henry is too young and 9S… well…"

"Is it really that disadvantageous?" 9S's voice spoke up, curious.

"I'm blind as a bat…" I deadpanned.

"Oh…" His voice sounded almost pitiful. I groaned.

"Oh, whatever, how long will this take?"

I heard a grunt behind me followed by a sigh. "Longer than I thought. I'll have to do the rest of the calibration back in our room. 9S, would you happen to have the time to help me?"

There was a note of hesitation before 9S shrugged. "Other than reporting to Yorha… Not much as of now."

"Reporting…" I frowned before jerking around to face generally where I thought he stood. "Wait! Did you tell them about us?"

"Huh!" 9S's startled exclamation came around the same time as Machael yelped at my sudden movement. "What- I had too. I can't keep something like that away from the Commander."

I gnawed on my lip, worried.

"And what if that Commander decides we're a nuisances and decides to destroy us or something?" Gren growled, as if seemingly realizing the situation at the same time as me.

"She would never." His response was so forceful I could almost imagine his curled fists. "She cares about humanity, more than most of us. She'll do anything to protect you all. However, I did let her know you were in this base and that it was up to Anemone… I believe the two will be talking it out in the meanwhile…"

I let out a breath. For now it will do. "Alright, that will work. Now can you take this off me please? I can't see worth crap and it's really disconcerting."

"Oh, right." Machael's sheepishness took me by surprise, but I appreciated it as he pulled the blindfold off. And yes, I was going to call it a blindfold for now, before handing it back to 9S.

9S looked down at it before shaking his head. "Keep it. I have spares and you've already made some calibrations on it."

Machael blinked before grinning. "Thanks man."

"Er… man?"

"Slang, just ignore it." I brushed it off, turning to the others who'd been just watching with amusement. I glared pointedly at some of the girls. Cath stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, we should probably check on the state of the camp and meet up with 2B, right? Speaking of… I thought she was heading this way?"

"Oh! Yeah, the changing station is right next door, that's where she headed. Though… she's probably not too happy with me right now…" 9S winced and, due to his missing visor, it was so lifelike I found myself befuddled once more.

They weren't human. I KNOW that… but…

I shook my head and we all headed out. Taking one look at the chaos I turned to the others. "So… want to split now? Probably would be a good time while 9S is with us."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"As long as I get to do something." Gren turned, dragging Emma with her over to the medical wing. Just barely in sight I caught Popola perk up, heading in their direction. Good, she must have seen them.

I turned to Cath who waved me off. "Don't worry dear brother, the computers are right over that way, near Anemone, I think she'll be fine with that." She gestured to the practical other side of camp where I could just barely see the main tent. I hesitated but finally waved my hand. She nodded, and turned to Rebecca, who watched on in amusement. Henry spent his time, glancing around, looking at everything even as they started to head toward the tent.

I let out a breath and turned to 9S. "Why don't you two head back to the room, I'll meet you in a few, I want to speak with Anemone again."

Machael narrowed his eyes before shrugging and slinging his arm over 9S's shoulder, startling the poor android. I winced, almost feeling sorry for having done that to the younger looking boy. I shook my head and turned to see if I could find Anemone. I know it had only been a little while, but 9S's words worried me, even now. Plus, she had left on short notice.

Stepping past the crowd, just before reaching the tents that Rebecca and the others were in, I finally found Anemone. She was taking a seat, head down, resting, half an eye on the trio. I winced and almost stopped, turning around, but she seemed to notice and lifted her head. "Oh… Hello," She let out a breath and stood. "What brings you over?"

"I'm sorry…" I voiced out, hands clenched to my side. "I just heard from 9S…"

Anemone's gaze softened and she leaned back. "It's fine, there wasn't anything you could do about that. I should have figured myself. At least the camp will be back in order. The last of our forces have returned with a victory, thankfully."

I let out a breath of relief and smiled. "That's good."

Anemone nodded before stepping away from her chair, toward the tent. "I just spoke with the commander before you arrived." Her voice was soft, obviously only for my ears. "She's going to keep 9S and 2B on you all at all times for reconnaissance, though that works for me as well. I've managed to persuade her that you all were under my jurisdiction but don't be reckless. If anything happens than I have no doubt she would swoop down and make sure you were all… safe…"

The way she said safe spoke volumes and caused me to gulp. "When you say… swoop… where is she?"

"She and her fellow Yorha live on a satellite that hangs above the earth, a mid point between here and the humans on the moon."

"Gotcha…" I mean, I didn't mind the idea of going to space, but I highly doubted any of us would be able to leave with those Machines about and we really needed to…

We NEEDED to see if there was a way home.

* * *

 **That's it for this week folks!**

I'll see you all next week~

P.s. Thank you SOOOO much for your reviews! They mean the world to me. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Anemone watched me quietly for a moment, her gaze almost analyzing. "I meant to ask, has your stay been pleasant so far? I am aware I have been unable to join you to check and Devola and Popola are overwhelmed with the injured."

"It's fine." I waved it off, feeling uncomfortable as she continued to stare at me with a strange expression. "It makes sense, to keep an eye on your people-" Her expression shifted and I could have sworn she actually froze for a second.

"I'm grateful for your concern, but there is more than that…" She shook her head. "My apologies, I don't wish to overwhelm you. Once you are more settled in and we are once more in better conditions to help you we'll allow you a chance to explore this base, but for now. I ask that you stay close to those who are aware… or in your room. Understood?"

I nodded, frowning slightly. What did she mean by explore? The base seemed pretty self-explanatory to me so… I shook my head. She did say she didn't want to overwhelm us, I guess it makes sense. Speaking of…

"Hey, Anemone, this might sound strange but, have you ever heard-" Before I could say anything more Anemone stiffened, reaching her hand to her ear. A moment later she grimaced, giving me a tired and aggravated look… had she moved closer to me?

"Sorry, but I must be going-"

"Oh… right. Sorry to keep you and… thank you."

"Contrary to appearance, the pleasure is all mine." Anemone smiled, outright smiled in a way that reminded me a bit of older sister, raising her hand toward me for a second before stopping and hurrying away.

While that did calm some of my fear, it left me with more questions than before. I let out a sigh and turned, heading toward the room - 9S and Machael would probably be there.

What I didn't expect was to run into 2B along the way. She eyed me warily, or so it seemed even with the visor covering her eyes before nodding her head. "You're one of the androids we brought back. What was your name?"

"Huh?" I frowned, hand to my chin as I flipped through my memory. Oh… right. I never did get a chance to give my name back then. Speaking of… "Right… when we met at the town hall…" I looked up, brow furrowed. "What happened there? Is it possible to go back?"

2B frowned. "The entire area was destroyed in the attack. There is nothing of use to you there."

I bit my lip hard, feeling tears in my eyes as I realized what it meant. "Oh… thanks… and my name is Alister but, please, call me Al…"

"Al?" 2B voiced before shaking her head. "Alister will suffice."

My eye twitched but I let it go. "Oh!" I snapped my fingers, startling her. "We should probably get going. 9S is with Machael right now."

"Machael? He was another from your group, wasn't he?"

"The other boy, a little older than me?" I pointed out, gesturing generally with my hand. "A little taller and looking like he probably works out way too much?"

I could have sworn 2B looked even more confused. But she simply nodded. "Understood."

"Proposal: Unti 2B should seek additional clarification."

I jumped as a masculine voice rang from behind 2B.

"Negative, 042, that is not necessary."

I stared at the… pod as she called it. Where had that been earlier? It looked like a metal box with long thin and multi hinged arms. It swiveled around her, floating behind her.

"Wha…" I stuttered out, pointing.

"This is my designated pod, Pod 042. He was out of service due to damages received on my last mission with 9S." She replied succinctly before turning and walking away, only to stop when she seemed to realize I wasn't following. "Alister, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to hurry?"

The prompt was curt and I'm REALLY regretting giving her my full name, but it caused me to jerk and hurry after her anyway. Her strides were long, but I was able to keep up with her relatively well. Probably because of all the running and such lately.

It didn't take long before we arrived back at the room. I moved ahead of 2B, startling her, before carefully opening the door and peeking inside. At the table, talking animatedly over the visor, as well as a couple more piled to one side, were 9S and Machael. 9S perked up and glanced over.

"9S… What are doing showing them YorHa technology? Resistance androids have no need for such a thing." 2B spoke as I let out a sigh, pushing the door open, startling Machael, the only one who hadn't noticed us.

"Oh, hey Al! You're back."

I waved before taking a seat on the bed as 9S faced 2B. "Well… he asked and well…"

I scrutinized 2B quietly before glancing at Machael, tuning out their conversation. "So, how far did you get?'

"Dude… you were only gone for about ten minutes…" Machael raised an eyebrow and I winced.

"Right, sorry…"

"No problem. That 9S is incredible. For the way he acts, he's incredibly smart." Machael whistled. "No wonder he figured it out."

I nodded, before gesturing down at the visor in his hands. He looked down before shrugging and handing it over.

"Wait, why are you giving it to me? I thought you weren't done."

"I only said you were gone for ten minutes. With 9S's help we think we figured out a way to calibrate it so it reads the signals our eyes send to the brain. Not as useful as what they might see, but try it."

"My head won't explode or something, will it?" I gave him a narrowed side-eye causing him to shrug.

"No promises, but don't worry, it won't ruin your face or anything."

"Oh, of course that's my main priority in this." I rolled my eyes but took a deep breath. "Speaking of, "Hey, 2B? 9S? Are you two sure this is allowed?"

I glanced over, jerking the two out of their conversation. 2B looked a little perturbed, her eyebrows scrunching up just enough to show it. 9S blinked before he shrugged. "I don't see why not. I know it's Yorha technology, but…" He examined both of us before grinning. "Maybe you could find use for it."

We exchanged looks before I shrugged and brought it up to my eyes, keeping my eyes closed as I wrapped it behind my head, tying it loosely. Dropping my hand, I opened my eyes, expecting blackness.

Instead pain flashed through my head as I winced. Black and white static filled my gaze, chipping and crackling. I could see 9S glance over, Machael leaning over, close to my face, gaze on the visor. 2B was standing off to one side, watching us with a strange expression. Or that could have been my imagination as another flash of pain flared through my head. I saw Machael jerk and quickly reach past my head, practically ripping the visor from my head. I blinked, feeling dizzy.

"Ugh… what hit me…" I moaned, pushing the palm of both hands against my eyes.

"Er… calibration was a bit off… It's fine with your eyes closed, since there isn't as much information going into the visual cortex but with the eyes open… I'll need to fix it a bit…"

"A bit!" I wheezed.

"But hey! You were able to see, right? That's something." Machael pointed out, seeming nervous.

I shot him a glare. "Make sure that it is actually WORKING before you give it to me or anyone else, got it?" I really wished I had that visor to throw at him right now. It might not have helped, but it sure as heck would have been cathartic.

"Right, right." He winced before plopping back over at the table, placing the visor down gently.

I shook my head and turned to 9S, who was watching me carefully. "You aren't hurt… right?"

"Don't worry." I waved it off, finding myself chuckling slightly. "Anyway, you had some questions?"

9S hesitated.

"Are you really… human?" 2B's voice caught me off guard as much as the slight quiver I heard. A hint of desperation and hope? I wasn't sure but I turned, spotting her standing back, arms crossed tightly underneath her chest, holding herself close.

"Yeah…"

2B stared before glancing away. "That gives me a lot to think about… Pod 042?"

"Command is already aware, according to Pod 153. There are no necessary protocols for 2B to follow."

Her gaze drifted to 9S who waved sheepishly. "Yeah… I let Command know after I found out earlier. Sorry I didn't tell you, guess I thought you knew."

2B just shook her head. 9S grimaced before turning back to me. "So… Are most humans like you all?"

"I THINK you'll need to be a bit more specific." Machael pointed out, glancing up for a brief moment from his examination. "That's a pretty broad topic."

"How so?" 9S asked, tilting his head slightly.

We exchanged looks before I sighed. "There are a lot of humans where we're from to the point that you could almost say no two are the same. Some humans would probably adore the machines out there, fascinated by the way they fight or something, others like ourselves would try to stay away and make our own path, you know?" I shrugged. "You can't really say most are like us. We're just… us. I'm not sure if that works the same for androids or not. So far I've seen a couple androids who all act incredibly different, kind of like you two actually. So…"

"Oh…" 9S pondered that for a moment before he nodded. "That would explain why we also have different typings. I'm a scanner, but I also have the 9th personality type created. 2B on the other hand is a Battle type with the 2nd personality type," 9S explained.

Machael's eyes lit up and he leaned forward. "You mean, humans on the moon were advanced enough to actually create facsimiles of personalities? Amazing!"

I saw a shift and looked over to see 2B clench her fists at her side, gnawing at her lip for a moment before quickly correcting herself. I filed the action away, turning back to 9S and Machael, who had gotten into conversation about the different types of personalities and how they were created. Honestly? It went a little over my head but if Machael understood it than it was fine. At least someone in our group did.

"I'm going to guess that you two could be talking all day so I'll interrupt, if you don't mind and bring the conversation back to a level that everyone can actually follow." I pointed out, garnering everyone's attention. 9S smiled sheepishly as Machael shrugged, seeming to agree.

"Sure. Did you have something else?" 9S said, leaning forward.

I hesitated, staring at him for a long time before gesturing to Machael. "Can we have a quick moment?"

9S blinked, exchanging looks with 2B before nodding and standing up. "We'll be right outside if you need us."

I watched them walk out before turning to Machael. He hesitated before letting out a breath. "You want to ask them, don't you?"

"You guessed it… do you think 9S would know?"

Machael frowned, brow furrowed in a way that indicated he was probably thinking pretty deeply about his answer. After some time he shrugged. "I'll be honest, I don't know… But if there was some way to get to the humans on the moon then maybe…"

I hesitated. Technically, that was an option, but I wasn't sure how keen I was on the idea. Anemone had mentioned that YoRHa, the group that 9S and 2B were with, had a satellite and flight units. Maybe it was possible that they could transport us to the satellite and, from there, to the moon base. It was a stretch, but it was a better idea than doing nothing.

Yet, my gut was telling me something was wrong with that idea. I remembered thinking how we wouldn't be able to leave if we went to space. I remember the strange expressions on Popola's and Devola's faces and Anemone's words.

Shaking my head, pushing away the thoughts I glanced over to Machael who was watching me quietly.

"Let's put that idea on hold for now and see if we can find any information ourselves. While it might be handy to have 9S's help, we also don't really know them well."

I was honestly surprised by Machael's response but I found myself smiling. "Yeah, after all, Rebecca is gathering intel along with my sister and Henry… We'll just tell him if we need him we'll call, sounds fair?"

"Yeah… so do you want to tell them to come back in or shall I?"

I blinked before letting my head drop into my palm, right. We'd pushed them outside to have our little chat. "I'll get them."

I stood, glad the earlier headache was gone and opened the door. I saw 9S squatting on the ground, drawing in the dirt as 2B stood off to one side, inspecting the area. 9S glanced up before jumping to his feet, embarrassment clear on his face. The two of us exchanged looks before Machael shrugged. "I'm going to check on the others." I frowned, finding myself a little annoyed, but let him go. It seemed things had calmed down some but it was still hectic, so the more hands the better. I gestured and they both followed me back inside.

"Sorry about that." I took a seat and turned to them. 9S plopped on the bed while 2B stood off to one side. "Anyway, you probably have more questions. Might as well ask them now before things get crazy again, right?"

9S stared at me before gnawing on his lip. I was a bit surprised at the very human reaction. "I have a lot of questions. So many it's almost overloading my synapses but… What is it like… to be human?"

I pondered that for a moment. It was, honestly, a good and difficult question. On a day-to-day basis we don't really think about it, why would we? A human being is just that, a human. We're an animal, but we don't classify ourselves as one because we think… contrary to what some might say.

"I'm not an expert on humanity, but…" I thought over the different stories I've written, the characters I created. Would they be classified as humans? If so… "Humans are a strange species. We can love and fight in the same breath. We can believe different things and all walk our own paths. Some might follow what they believe, others might follow a leader figure. There is a question about free will and predestination but I don't really believe its one or the other. I think some things will happen, but we choose how it happens or even when it happens. Humans can be incredibly creative but also incredibly deadly if they so desire. I myself…" I furrowed my brow in thought. "I'm not exactly anyone special in my home. At home. I mostly just write stories and read pieces of them to prospective buyers. I think I'm fairly well off. I have two parents and my two sisters… one of whom you've met actually." That seemed to startle both of them out of their trance. 2B just looked confused but 9S looked absolutely stunned. "Sister… as in… family?"

I blinked before nodding. "Yeah, Cath. The one who looks a lot like me?"

"So that's what it means…" he whispered, seemingly in stunned silence. "Al… What actually is… what is a family? I've heard about it from 21O but…"

I stared at him, unsure how to respond, partly because of the question and partly because I was curious on who 21O was. "It's a… it's a group of people related by blood, though sometimes there are exceptions. They are common where I'm from. Often times they are a mother, father and child, though sometimes it varies." I shrugged. "Some people see those close to them as family even if their not blood related while others push away anyone who isn't blood related. You'll get different definitions depending on who you talk to but… usually it's when you like or appreciate another very much that you can see them as family. Make sense?"

9S frowned, deep in thought as 2B watched me quietly. A strange expression glowed on her face for a moment before she spoke. "It seems as though families can be anything you want them to be."

I nodded. "That's the gist of it, honestly. The common term is what I gave you at first, but to tell you the truth, there are some people related to me by blood that I absolutely can not stand and I don't see them as family, no matter how much they are actually related to me." I frowned before smiling softly. "And then there are others that… I want to make a family with." I shook my head and glanced over to them. "Sorry, lost my train of thought for a moment there but… did that help?"

2B looked over to 9S before letting out a sigh. "Yes. Thank you Alister-"

"It's Al." I finally said, getting annoyed that she kept calling me that when I specifically said to call me Al…

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow as she pulled her partner up who, surprisingly, had started tapping away at a holographic keyboard, muttering to himself. "Alister. 9S and I have some reports we must finish. Thank you for your answers." She bowed her head and started for the door, literally dragging 9S along with her. I watched them go, a mix between amused and utterly baffled. Deciding not to think about it I stood to follow after them. However, our conversation had pulled up everything I had been trying not to think about. My family, my friends, my girlfriend… I found myself sitting back down, my head swimming. Would I be able to see them again? Unable to stop myself, I thought of Mr. Burgess and it all came crashing down on me. I'd been too late to save him. I'd been too tired… too scared. I hadn't tried to go farther out. I hadn't pushed to get us somewhere safe.

What if I screwed up again? Who would I lose next? Would it be my fault again? I dropped my head enough to see my hands trembling in my lap. Something dropped, splashing on the pants. Was I… was I crying?

I reached a hand up and quickly wiped the tears away. I had no right to cry. I'll cry when I get everyone back home. For now I needed to stay strong. I needed…

But it was quiet… would any of them even see me now? But if I broke down now… would I be able to pick myself back up? Or would I just give up?

Deciding that I was almost afraid to find out the answer I flung myself to my feet and raced to the door, swinging it open and heading over to the nearest place I could think of, all the while feeling my stomach twist in hunger. I pushed the thought to the side, rationalizing that the last of our rations were used up this morning...

So, the infirmary could always use another hand, right?

* * *

Sorry about the delay. I had a family get together last week that I couldn't miss.

Still, hope you guys like this chapter! See you soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Devola and Popola were happy to get another hand, even if they were almost done. They had me doing some of the basics, putting staunching gel and bandages on when needed or wiping off the grit from androids so that they could be put back together. It was mind-numbing work. Most seemed to be Resistance, but a few of the black clothed ones who were less damaged had found their way there as well. Part of me wondered why, but I decided not to ask, keeping quiet as we all worked. Finally, we finished the last one.

Gren trotted over, and grinned. "That was interesting. I didn't know there were that many androids here. You two are pretty amazing to do this by yourselves."

Popola smiled faintly as Devola shrugged looking away. I chuckled before hearing my stomach growl. I winced as Devola and Popola simultaneously seemed to realize the situation. Thankfully all of the nearby androids were either in sleep mode or distracted because I would have had no explanation for that… Er… except one of them, but they were just wildly looking around so… I guess they hadn't noticed it was me.

We were shuffled out of the infirmary by Devola who said she would stay to make sure everything was all set. Popola seemed fine with it, turning to us before frowning in thought. "I know Anemone probably hasn't gotten anything set up for you… so I'm not sure what food we have, since androids don't need to eat…"

"That's fine." Gren grinned, patting Emma on the back. "We still have some things in our room to tide us over-"

"Er… actually…" I cut in, catching their attention before smiling sheepishly. "Remember? We ate the last of it this morning? Or did you forget we'd split it before we left…"

Gren stared at me before slowly turning toward Emma who nodded with a faint smile on her face that practically screamed 'Sorry, but he's right.'

"Great… so now what?" Emma groused, throwing her hands up.

Popola thought for a moment as we walked, heading back toward our room. We'd kept our voices low for the most part and only got the occasional glance sent our way.

Thankfully, the androids seemed so caught up in their own duties they hadn't taken much notice of us. I guess the latest battle with the Machines might have helped us in the long run. I mean, a battle is still a battle so I'm not sure on the actual casualties… but they are distracted with the aftermath and all and… Oh, now I'm just sounding callous. I mentally groaned and decided to get on another topic, mainly, observing our base of operations as I guess I should call it.

It was on our way back when we met up with Anemone who seemed startled to see us. She blinked. "I was just about to go look for you. I had my people finish up patching up the old kitchen. Some androids in the past have been interested in food for humans, thankfully the equipment is still in fairly good condition. I've told the others so they are already on their way there. Would you like me to lead you?"

"Sure, that would be great." Gren grinned, hurrying after her, with Emma not far behind. I trailed to the back with a frown. Considering the state of the place and what Popola just said, how old would these appliances be? Because, to be honest, while some things in this world were far more advanced than our own, others were almost dated… which made sense. During war times in our home world, anything that wasn't essential for the war would be turned into something that could be used for it. But we'd known moments of peace as well. Maybe that's why we had some of the necessary amenities such as air conditioning, toilets and the like. I was not in the mood to use the outdoors any more than I had to, thank you. Still, it was something to think about-

"Al, are you alright?"

I jumped, glancing over to Popola who was watching me quietly. "Oh, sorry, just thinking."

"This must be a lot to take in… for all of you…" She paused, gnawing on her lip before nodding to herself. "I have a question for you…"

I blinked, tilting my head enough to face her. I could just barely see Gren talking with Anemone just ahead with Emma listening in. Part of me wondered what they were talking about but another part of me… "Yeah, what's up?"

"Where did you all come from?"

I started, surprised. I must have missed a step, because I tripped for a second before righting myself. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said… you seemed startled earlier at the idea of humans being on the moon, almost as if you weren't from the moon, but…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on something that might be pers-"

"It's fine." I quickly cut her off, letting out a breath before shrugging. "Not much to tell you at this point… it's something… we're still trying to figure out." I trailed off before giving her a sad smile. "And… I'm not sure how much you all can help us."

She stared at me for the longest time, as if not sure how to respond. Our conversation was interrupted when Cath grabbed my hand, having finished her conversation with Anemone, and pulled me forward. "We're here!"

I yelped, stumbling. "Why are you pulling me? I can see!"

The building was reminiscent of the others around the city, cement with curtains over most of the glassless windows. We stepped past a curtain that seemed to be acting as a doorway, brushing it aside, to enter into a brightly lit interior. The others were already inside, scrutinizing the light stock. Henry was jumping a little to see the top shelf while Machael poked and prodded through everything... Speaking of, how did they get all this stuff in one day?

"Commander White had some of her troops collect the items after the battle, basics like bowls and spoons. Yorha agents are always efficient. I also borrowed some meat and other items from our local shops. "

I jumped as Anemone spoke up beside me. I glanced over. "But… won't that bring up suspicion? I mean, I highly doubt that's normal affair…" I asked, a little worried.

Anemone smiled and shook her head. "It was just simply a research mission to obtain anything in the destroyed region, it would not be seen as too unusual."

I let out a breath of relief, that's good. Maybe it was stupid, but I wasn't in a hurry to have people finding out about us.

It was then I realized that Gren had let go of me to glance over the goods. Rebecca was off to one side, looking a little out of it, her expression distant. Cath wasn't much better. I was a little worried about that.

"Those two were looking through our archives earlier." I blinked and looked back at Anemone. She must have seen my confusion and clarified. "We do store our history in databanks as well as our own mental storage. Sometimes it's just… easier to keep things in databanks…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "Sorry. Got a little lost in thought there. Still, I'm not sure what they saw, but it scared them…" Anemone sighed before turning to me. "I know it's not much, but if you need anything-" she pointed to one side where there was a screen and, what looked like, a keyboard. "-Just use that to contact me. It's already set with the id to connect with me if you have need, if not just power it down. Hopefully, I'll be able to set one up in your room as well, if that is alright with you."

"Thank you Anemone… you've done a lot for us already."

She smiled and reached a hand up, before promptly turning and walking away. I watched her go before walking over to my sister. While the others worked to get food ready I took a seat next to her. After only a moment's hesitation I put my arm around her shoulder and leaned forward so I could look up at her. "Hey, Cath… are you okay?"

She jumped, almost wrenching my arm off. I winced and she quickly righted herself, apologies written clear all over her face. "Sorry…"

"It's fine." I rubbed my shoulder as I pulled it close, grimacing. Rebecca looked up, spotting me, as if she'd finally taken notice of the others, she jerked.

"You two read something in those archives… didn't you?"

They turned to me and Cath seemed to almost withdraw into herself. Even though my shoulder screamed at me I put my arm around her and pulled her close once more before glancing over to Rebecca.

She hesitated before looking out one of the open windows. A faint breeze was drifting by, coinciding with the quiet chatter both inside and out.

"We found out… quite a bit…"

I hummed. Whatever it was must have been big… "I'm guessing you would prefer to wait for everyone to hear?"

Rebecca smiled faintly. "I would appreciate that… yes…"

"Alright…"

"Hey! Get away from that food!"

I jumped along with the others as Gren's voice echoed around the room. I glanced over to see her tugging Emma away from some pans.

"Why? She's just-"

"Do you know this girl?" Gren interrupted as Emma smiled sheepishly. "She doesn't know how to boil water!"

"Er… actually… I just… burn it…" she muttered.

I blinked. I didn't even know you could burn water… how?

That seemed to be a common question amongst the others in the room. Popola just seemed unsure of what to do as she stirred something that was probably soup. Damn, they worked fast.

"Well? Does anyone else here know how to cook anything besides fish?" Machael interrupted, arms crossed over his chest and brow raised.

Gren hesitated, looking uncomfortable. Henry just shrugged before going back to watching Popola.

"Brother…"

"No." I spoke up quietly.

"But-"

"No." I reiterated. Cath stared at me for a long time before pulling back. Realizing what she was about to do I lunged forward to try to stop her.

"My brother's the best cook eve-"

"Will you shut it?" I whispered, already knowing it was too late. Everyone's attention was on me… AGAIN.

Gosh darn it…

"You can cook?" Rebecca asked. "I know a thing or two myself but it's always nice to have another hand."

I let out a sigh and slumped. "Yeah… I can…"

"Then get over here, you lazy bum. Why are you sitting around anyway?"

"To annoy you?" I muttered before getting up and walking over, rolling up my sleeves as Rebecca followed me. "So… what are we making?"

Popola watched in a mix of confusion and amusement. "A vegetable soup with boar meat. I would have bread but… we don't really do much with grain."

"That's fine." I glanced at what we had. She must have been making the broth for the soup so the vegetables… "Rebecca, can you cut the vegetables for her?"

"I can… what are you going to do?"

"You said boar's meat… right? That stuff is pretty tough in general…" I grinned, as Cath dropped a large bit of cut meat in front of me. "So let's get started."

* * *

It's been a while since I've cooked for so many people. I didn't always cook at home, but when I did, I knew, usually, what I was doing. Must be all the research I do on my stories… or that I'm the only guy in the house with all girls. You kind of have to learn a thing or two in that situation, no offense. My mom and older sister are still better than me,. But I would say I'm a pretty good cook. I just don't like to do it. It's always hot and bothersome and, while the smell emenating around the room is really good, it goes away so fast it feels like there's no point in making it to begin with. Plus...

Emma peeked over my shoulder, watching quietly as Gren and Machael argued about something or other over the few utensils we seemed to have. Rebecca was showing Henry how to cook and it looked like Cath was despondent… probably because she couldn't find a frilly apron for me or something. Thank the heavens. I don't know how she manages, but she always finds one with the most frills and laces imaginable. I don't mind aprons, their helpful not to get splatter from oil and grease on your clothes but the frills... they just get caught on EVERYTHING!

"That… doesn't seem that hard…" Emma spoke up quietly and I glanced over my shoulder before slowly slicing up a few more pieces of meat, carefully keeping them to thinner bits.

"It… really isn't. It's just time-consuming…" I glanced back at her. "How DO you manage to burn water anyway?"

She pursed her lips, unable to look me in the eye. "Well… I… don't know. I mean. I set it up to max temperature and add a bunch of salt like it says and then wait…"

"A bunch?" I ask hesitantly and she perks up.

"Yep. I sometimes dump the whole thing in hoping it'll boil even faster with more since it's breaking down more components in the water but…"

I groaned, so that's why. "Okay… you do know it's only supposed to be a pinch... right?"

She stared at me in confusion. "Yeah... a bunch..."

I sighed, she was usually so astute... Maybe its just one of those things where you can't do something, no matter how smart you might be. Lets go with that because my brain does not want to deal with this right now. "So how about you help me with some of this meat, Just carefully place it into the pan. You don't have to touch anything, alright?"

A pan, the one in question, was already simmering above the stove. I could see Popola watching us closely with a worried gaze and sent her a quick grin.

I turned away for one moment… one…

"Ah!"

I jerked and turned to see the oil sputtering out of the pan, as Emma jerked backward. Some landed on the stove causing it to spark slightly. I grabbed the pan and wrenched it off, turning the heat completely off and then took a look at the meat. "Why did you grab the thick part?"

Emma looked away blushing brightly. "Sorry…"

I sighed.

"I told you." Gren sang as she walked over before lightly tugging on Emma's arm. "Why are you over here anyway?"

"Because it smelled good?"

I watched the two girls walk away, completely confused on how a quiet girl like Emma, who usually seemed to have her act together, can make so many simple mistakes… I shook my head, deciding not to question it and put the meat back down, returning everything to where it was supposed to be.

"You're okay, right?"

I looked over toward Popola, who was watching with a strange expression, gaze on my arms. "Yeah, I'm fine. The grease spatter didn't hit me."

She nodded and I turned back to my cooking with Rebecca chuckling beside me.

Still, to have something that isn't rations… I can already feel my mouth water as we finally got to the finishing touches. I could hear clattering and looked back to see the curtain to another room was open. I glanced over at Popola, who nodded. With Rebecca's help, the three of us brought the food into the other room. I guess Henry had left to help set up.

I blinked, surprised. The other room was decent sized with a few electric lights flickering pleasantly. There were no windows, but it was cozy with a table big enough to fit all of us, which I was grateful for. I placed the food down and took a seat. It was not long before we divvied up the food, using what plates and scraps we could find from what the androids had brought earlier. A quiet chatter echoed around the room while we ate with Popola off to one side, observing us quietly. I didn't mind. It made sense, especially…

"So, what happened today?" Machael spoke up around a bite of food. "Which by the way… holy shit. This stuff is good." He looked at me. "To bad you're a guy or I would marry you for this."

"He's already taken." Cath chuckled and I glared at her.

"Oh? Have a girlfriend back home?" Gren grinned, leaning forward. "Lucky her… I would love to eat this more often."

"Well. Considering our situation, I might just have to follow through with that… or figure out how to teach the rest of you how to cook…" I rolled my eyes before turning to Rebecca. "Though Machael has a good point-"

"About the marriage?" Cath almost cackled. I glared before continuing, earning a quiet laughter around the table.

"Ignoring that… What was it you found today?"

The mood dropped as all eyes turned to Cath and Rebecca. Rebecca placed down her makeshift spoon and sighed. "I guess it makes sense to get it out of the way…" She lightly folded her hands over each other before looking around the room. "So… I might as well start from the beginning…" Rebecca hesitated. "There is… really no easy way to put this. There was a lot of information so I'll just list off the basics." She took in a deep breath. Cath seemed to withdraw into herself, chewing on her lip. "So… to begin with. The date, right now, is March 12th… 11,945 ad."

The sounds of clattering rang around the room. I was suddenly very grateful I'd put my own impromptu fork down earlier, because even my jaw was hanging open.

"What?" Gren choked.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Popola stiffen before excusing herself. She slipped out and part of me was grateful. Another part was still getting my head wrapped around that… date.

"How can over nine thousand years pass? And yet… everything is around the same level of tech as…"

"Our home…" Cath spoke up quietly. She turned her head up. "It's the same level of tech as our home… for thousands of years."

Rebecca nodded. "On top of that, around five thousand years ago in 5012 to be precise, aliens attacked the planet and humans were forced to flee to the moon, as we have been told…"

So that's what happened… then… "Where are those aliens now?" I found myself asking out loud. I tilted my head up to see everyone's unsure expressions. A few exchanged glances were enough to answer that question…

"But, besides the alien's situation, that leaves another question… how is it that technology is still so limited? How did they get to the moon so quickly during an ALIEN invasion of all things?" Machael interrupted, hand to his chin, head bent in thought. "While we have space bases up there, it's mostly for military, not common folks like us. Plus, Aliens could just as easily follow and blast those on the moon so… how are they still alive up there?"

"Are they still alive?" Emma murmured.

The table went quiet as we thought over what she said before I smiled weakly. "Well, we'll have to hope so. After all, how else are we going to get home?" The others turned toward me as I continued, "Look, we know we came to this world through some rip in the sky."

"Dimensional travel."

"As Machael said," I gestured, suddenly very grateful of the privacy this room gave. With any luck, Popola was outside, making sure there were no eavesdroppers, but… "Maybe it was an accident we ended up here, maybe it was intentional, but either way they would have noticed if something happened and yet no secondary hole has appeared. We can't rely on our home world figuring out where we are." I glanced around as the others seemed to realize what I was getting at. "Androids, as human like as they are, are still androids…" I let out a breath. "They aren't human… they don't…" I shook my head. "Either way, if there are humans on the moon we NEED to know."

"If there are… how do we get there?" Cath pointed out. "I don't know about you, Al, but it seems like a long shot to plan on being able to meet humans who dwell on the moon when I'm not even sure if they have rockets… or need them."

"What about the flight units?" I brought forth. "Obviously they get from space to earth and back again somehow so…"

"Well…" Machael interrupted, getting our attention. "They are androids. They are probably able to withstand a lot higher heats and pressures than us humans. In truth… we don't actually KNOW what they are capable of… or how they will react to us. The ones who know seem to be pretty okay with it, but…"

I looked down at the table, deep in thought. He was correct… in a lot of ways.

"So what do we do?" Gren grunted, stuffing some meat in her mouth and quickly swallowing before pointing the fork at us. "Do you expect us to wallow in self pity? I sure as heck don't plan on that. Heck no. Rebecca, was there anything else you found while out?"

Rebecca hesitated before smiling faintly. "Yes. There is supposed to be a world-wide broadcast from the people on the moon some time in a few days."

We all looked at each other and grinned. "So we get to hear from them… I wonder if they are aware we are here." Gren huffed.

"Well, if they are, would they really broadcast it for everyone to hear?" Cath chuckled.

We all looked at each other, only for grins to pop up on everyone's faces.

"Heck, we could be celebrities!" Machael stood, one leg up on the chair arm flexing. "Maybe the humans on the moon would see us as someone special who survived all these years and worship us!"

"Get out of your dream world there, idiot." Gren rolled her eyes as the other chuckled.

Machael pouted before plopping back in his seat. "Well, whatever. Anyway…" He leaned forward, once more serious. "What are we going to tell them? We need help, as Al said, and we can't just wait for the people from our world to magically appear and help us…"

"I don't want to end up like Mr. Burgess…" Emma spoke up quietly.

I looked away, pursing my lips. I could try to be chipper right now but I just… wasn't feeling it.

"We won't." Henry, of all people, pipped up with a small grin. "We'll survive and go home. After all, we have freaking awesome fighting androids to protect us, right?"

The others exchanged looks before nodding and grinning. I chuckled softly as Rebecca gently ruffled her sons hair, a somber expression on her face.

I narrowed my eyes, but pushed the strange occurrence off. We finished eating and cleaned up our utensils, bringing them back into the kitchen. Popola was no where in sight. I frowned but decided not to worry about it as I quickly wiped down my dishes. Thankfully, there was a working sink and something kind of like the soap we used when we took our showers. I quickly scrubbed the food off, noting that all the pans used for cooking were already clean. I'll have to thank Popola later.

I saw a couple people gathered around the little computer Anemone had pointed out earlier. I dried my hands and walked over as Henry reached up to press a button.

The screen flickered for a moment before picking up. Anemone's face shown on screen. "It seems you know how to use it." She turned away for a second, talking to one of her people probably before focusing back on us. "So, did you need something?"

"We were just finishing up and were planning to head back. We figured we should let you know." Rebecca spoke up. Anemone nodded, her expression shifting before it once more returned to a faint smile.

"Alright. I'll make sure one of the twins is over there in a few."

"Where's 9S and 2B?" Henry asked, peering up at the screen.

Anemone seemed startled for a second, looking down. "They are picking some things up for one of my men, a little errand if you will. They'll be back soon."

I frowned, wondering what they were picking up, but decided no to think about it as footsteps rang from the other-side of the doorway. The curtain shifted and Popola peeked in. "Anemone called, are you ready to go?"

I nodded, waving good-bye to Anemone. The others said their partings and thank you's before hanging up. Machael pressed a button and I could practically see the whole thing shut down.

* * *

It was so hard to tell time with the sun unmoving as it was as we walked back to the room, but I was guessing it was late considering how everyone was gone with only a few androids out and about. I could see the others looking tired after the long day. Some of us had been running around while others spent most of the day researching. No wonder we were all tired.

I found myself trailing behind a bit, feeling lethargic and stomach heavy.

"Hey… Al?"

I glanced over, having heard the faint footsteps but ignored them. Popola stood there, hesitant. I slowly pulled to a stop, finding we weren't that far from the room. I could see a couple people heading inside, barely sparing us a glance.

"Yeah? What's up?"

She hesitated before giving me a warm expression. "I know my sister hasn't said it, though I have no doubt that she's wanted to but… both of us… we want to thank you."

"Huh?"

She tilted her head toward the doorway, watching quietly. "It means a lot to us… that you would trust us as much as you do… that you seem to want to be with us-"

"Are you idiots?" I groaned, letting out a sigh. "You helped us." I pointed out, pushing a finger into her forehead. She seemed startled, but didn't rebuke. "You had no reason to believe a stranger like me, but you did. You fought off those machines even though it's obvious you two weren't… designed? To be fighters." There was probably a better way to phrase that, but I couldn't think of what it would be. "So no… if anything. We should be thanking you two. For everything you've done for us since we've arrived."

She seemed to observe me for the longest time, a strange and almost heartbreaking expression on her face as her fingers trailed over where I'd poked her. She turned away. "I… You really don't have any idea… what that means to my sister and I…"

I chuckled. "Maybe not, but it's the truth."

She faced me. With almost no hesitation, she reached forward and pulled me into a hug. I let out a strange noise as she pulled me close, her grip tight. Not even a moment later she let me go, quickly backing off. "I remember… once doing something like that… long ago…" Her expression was warm... before she turned away. "Get some sleep, you all will need it." I watched her go feeling a little strange. What exactly had I done? I let out a breath. Woman, androids or not, were confusing.

I turned to head to the room, only to freeze. Standing outside the now closed doorway was Rebecca. She seemed to be watching with an amused expression. I blushed and looked away. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you tired?"

"I am… but I wanted to speak with you," she said. I frowned, glancing back toward her. She stepped away from the doorway, glancing over the surrounding area. An overhang kept us in shadow, the air cool and fresh. Only slightly tainted with the scent of metal and oil. "So… You noticed…"

I blinked, confused as I turned my attention back on our conversation. What… I winced. "When I mentioned the protection of the androids?"

She looked away, confirming my answer. I sighed. "Look, whatever you read-"

"There is something I didn't tell the others… Cath read it as well and Machael has probably realized but…" She looked at me. "There is a virus… what the androids call a 'logic virus'. They don't know how it occurs or where it comes from, but… it messes with the sensors and sensibilities of androids… until all that remains is a husk, corrupted data and nothing more."

I stilled, my thoughts flashing to the androids we'd met so far and I shivered. "What… what are the signs of it? And why are you telling just me anyway?"

"Why? Because you have shown you won't panic over something like this and might be able to help come up with a solution if it ever arises…" I wasn't sure I agreed with her statement, but I let it slide as she continued, "-as for your second question…Red eyes…"

I looked at her for a long time before my shoulders slumped. Devola, Popola and Anemone… we would notice right away but 9S and 2B…

"We'll just have to hope they don't get infected… at least… not before we get home." I let out a breath. "Alright, thanks for telling me." I tilted my head up. "It's something we might have to worry about, but for now lets just keep it in the back of our minds. There are other things that we need to worry about first, right?"

She smiled weakly, and nodded, gesturing. This time, I was grateful to be able to walk through the door.

I think… that was enough surprises for one day…

* * *

Sorry... things have been a bit... hectic as of late. As an apology here is a longer chapter for you lovely folks and your awesome reviews that make my day.

Anyway, one more thing of note. Starting with this chapter I will be having to post every other week instead of every week. I do apologize, but I need the time to make sure things get done.

As a result, I want to thank you for your patience and interest and I hope you will stick with me.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning I awoke slowly to the sounds of everyone else shuffling around. I groaned, garnering someone's attention, though I wasn't sure who until I felt something land on my stomach and I yelped. My sister laughed, pulling off before placing her hands on her hips. "Well hello there, finally waking up?"

I glared at her, sitting upright with a wince. "Yeah, no thanks to you."

"You're welcome." She saluted before turning away. I took in the others, everyone seemed to be in varying stages of wakefulness and… was that Devola? She was watching with a hint of amusement at the shenanigans. Considering there was food on the table, she must have brought some. I yawned, walking over to grab some meat.

After quickly swallowing some I turned to her. "I'm guessing you brought the food."

"Are you really asking?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, stupid question… but… how? There's a lot of food here."

"Inter-spacial storage containers." Machael [piped] up around the broth he seemed to be slurping down, he finished and glanced over toward me. "You know, like the types they've been working on alongside…"

Ah… right… I forgot about that. Dimensional travel was always a much more interesting concept over extra storage space.

"I'm guessing you have something like that back where you are from?" Devola asked.

I nodded, facing her once more. "Yeah, though they haven't done too much with it… how much can you or the other androids store?"

"Depends on the generation… my sister and I are from… a long time ago." Devola shrugged, though the way she spoke made it sound almost solemn. "Newer Androids, such as the one's from Yorha-"

"Right, 'Yorha', what does that even mean?" Gren interrupted now that she finally managed to swallow the large bite of meat she'd been chewing on.

"No one really knows." Devola shrugged. "Just that it's the name of the group of androids most recently developed to fight the Machines. I wish I could tell you more, though…" and she honestly looked like she did, uncomfortable at not being able to explain well. That expression shifted. "Though, I need to ask, why are you asking me that when you use names like 'al' and 'gren'?"

Hey, no reason to get me involved. I rolled my eyes as Gren snorted, shaking her head as Devola grinned.

"It's fine." Gren waved. "If that's the situation for everyone, but… why do some androids seem to emphasis certain letters?"

"Oh, you noticed that?" Devola raised an eyebrow, amused.

"I can answer that." Rebecca spoke up, her attention turning away from an annoyed Henry. "If you don't mind?"

"Be my guest."

"Right, basically it's because of how it's spelled." Rebecca spoke up, picking up a bite of food. "For some strange reason they tend to capitalize the R and H to make it spell like YoRHa. Don't ask me why." As she chewed we all sat in silent thought. It wasn't really anything major, but it was interesting and did leave me to wondering…

"So… what are the main difference between YoRHa and regular androids?" I glanced toward Devola who sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back.

"That… is something better left to one of the scanners, they would be able to tell you more…" Probably noting my confused expression she elaborated. "Such as 9S."

Oh… right…

I returned my focus to my food as my sister chuckled quietly beside me, I sent her a quick glare before chowing down.

"So… what are you planning to do today?" Devola asked as she began picking up the plates of those already done. "I'm asking because my sister and I might be busy and I am not aware of Anemone or YoRHa agents movements…"

We all exchanged looks, pausing in our eating. What would we do today?

"Well… we've been here for a few days… why not meet up with the other androids? I mean, we were hesitant to let them know we were humans because… well… it's been kind of tense lately with the machine attack and all." Gren spoke up, placing her hands onto the table as she leaned forward. "I mean, what harm could fall if these androids know? It's not like humans no longer exist and I don't think we could all hide in here forever."

"We… could…" Rebecca seemed hesitant as Machael shrugged.

"I don't mind…" Emma spoke up.

I let out a sigh. "How about this Devola, what do you think would happen if we let the androids know we were human?"

Devola hesitated, her hand pausing in grabbing my sisters plate. "I'm… not positive." She grimaced. "My sister and I… well… don't see eye to eye with other androids. And you are right that things have started to calm down since the latest machine attack. Talk to Anemone about that before making any decisions. She might be able to tell you the best course of action."

"Won't she just say to go ahead? I mean, it's not like we can hide that all of us are human…" Gren replied.

Devola pursed her lips, surprisingly enough, looking ready to argue. "Are you…" She curled inward for a moment before sighing. "Look just… my sister and I don't want to see anything happening to you all. If you really feel like there won't be any issues… then go ahead but…" She paused. "Not all the androids here will be so calm about meeting humans. Remember, most androids have never even SEEN a human before, much less got the chance to meet one, keep that in mind." She turned and, to my surprise, left. I stared down at my unfinished plate and glanced around.

Damn, either I was a slow eater or… I chewed on my lip. "We must have said something she didn't like…"

"Huh?" Cath asked, confused.

I glanced toward her before looking at the group. "She never got the answer to her question." Plus she never grabbed my plate, but I wasn't going to say THAT out loud, it was… kind of a selfish thought…

The others looked around before Machael groaned. "Right, about what we were going to do today…" He sighed and shrugged. "Well, we might as well see if we can talk to Anemone about the situation and decide from there. The fact that she seemed so hesitant, along with some of the others, might be the clue we need to figure out what we're going to do…"

I glanced around to see that everyone seemed to agree.

Deciding that was our best plan of action we all finished up what we were eating and headed over to see Anemone since the communicator wasn't up yet.

She seemed busy, running around to make sure things were moving along, but as soon as she spotted us she diverted her track and hurried over. "I heard you wanted to speak with me?" At our confused expressions she clarified. "Devola contacted me and said you would be coming. I was hoping I could get most of what I needed to done…" She shook her head. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"

I exchanged looks with the other before Machael shrugged and said, "Should we tell people? We're all kind of wondering…"

Anemone stiffened before pursing her lips, seemingly understanding my vague statement. "Come, let's talk somewhere else." She walked away, causing us to hurry after her. A couple androids looked our way, but with a wave from Anemone they returned to what they were doing. Eventually we arrived in the little alcove she had used earlier when finding out about me. She turned to us, arms crossed. "So what brings this up?"

"Well, we can't exactly hide it forever, can we?" Gren pointed out, hand on her hip as Emma nodded beside her.

Anemone massaged the bridge of her nose. "Alright, I can see why you say that." She paused before looking back at us, letting her arm drop to her side. "But I want to ask you, do you realize just how important you all are?" We exchanged looks and she elaborated. "I was… hoping not to overburden you all when you arrived so I've been trying hard not to send every person I can trust to watch over you and the same thing with Commander White. To you… it might seem like you will get some attention and then it will die down, but to us…" Anemone trailed off, her expression almost distant. "To a few of us, you're lives, all of you, mean more than you can imagine and to a majority of androids. Well… Human's created us… Can you imagine? What that is like?"

I frowned, not quite following. She turned to me and bent down slightly. "Al, you've seen the Machine's out there, this planet. Humans once ruled this world and then they made us. Would they be kings? Emperors? Or something higher?"

I stared as realization dawned on me, the others taking it with varying levels of grace and dignity-

"What the holy freak? We're qualified as freaking Gods here?" Gren yelped as Emma looked on the verge of fainting. Did I say Grace and dignity? Oops…

Machael blinked and then cheered. "So I was right! Just off by a bit in the fame department."

"That… explains a lot…" Rebecca said, one eyebrow raised in an uncanny look that I didn't even think was possible and Cath was just staring.

"Sooo, what you are saying… is that the androids… well a… majority of androids, see humans as God's than… what about those few you spoke of?" I found myself asking, garnering the others attention.

Anemone stared at me for a long time, as if taking every inch of me and the others in. I would have said it was creepy, if not for the sad, almost longing expression her face. "There's no way to describe it…" She shook her head crossing her arms over her chest as she pulled back. "Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I want to ask, if you got a chance to meet the one who created you, no who created humanity, how would you respond?"

That caused almost all of us to pause. Now, I'm not the religious type but… even if I'm not religious, it's not hard for me to believe and I grimaced.

"You could get… almost any reaction… usually all extreme," Emma responded, tone hesitant. We all thought that over and I let out a sigh.

"Alright so… let's hold a rain-check on letting other androids know, fair?"

After some hesitation the others seemed to agree and Anemone smiled a warm smile. "Good…" She paused before reaching into what was probably her storage space and pulling out what looked like an old fashioned radio. "This is for you. We do have a couple news channels for the androids who are off missions or who need an update on the goings-on around the world. Why don't you listen in, it might tell you a thing or two about what other androids think, and you might learn what their opinions on humanity are allowing you a chance to put a few things in perspective." I gently took the radio from her, her hand lingering for a moment before she pulled back.

"Thank you…" Rebecca said. "For not only this, but for giving us some time to get acclimated to this place."

"As I said, it's my pleasure…" She let out a sigh. "However, since we're on this topic and things have started to settle down, I just wish to inform you that, once all the flight units are fixed, Commander White, the leader of YoRHa hopes to find a way to get you all someplace safe… understand?" Everyone nodded, though I did hesitate at her expression before she gestured. "Here, let me bring you back to your room. Oh, and I'll send one of the scanners over to put in that computer I mentioned yesterday."

"That would be helpful." Rebecca nodded. We all headed back, Anemone speaking quietly into what was probably her communicator.

It didn't take long for us to arrive and Anemone to part ways, saying the scanner would be there shortly and that she trusts he won't be a bother.

We all slipped inside and than just… sat. Part of me noticed that all the dishes from the morning were gone, which must have meant one of the twins came by but…

"Gods… we're seen as God's…" Gren muttered, shocked.

"I'm not sure that's a good thing…" Cath said with a frown. "I mean, look at some of the things that have happened by overzealous followers in, well, every religion… and… do they realize we're…"

"Fragile?" Machael spoke up. "Even with the best in technology and some development in enhancement drugs, we would barely be able to take down a bear, nonetheless machines like the ones outside. Get an android trying to give us a hug? We MIGHT snap a few bones."

Well… that wasn't a pleasant thought.

"But… if we're seen as Gods then… have all the androids who know been holding back?" Henry spoke up, jerking me out of my thoughts, I forgot the little boy was with us, he'd been so quiet today. But… it was a interesting thought.

There was a knock on the door, startling us as a curious voice slipped through. "Hello? This is 4S, Anemone sent me over to put in a new computer?"

4S… the name sounded familiar. I jerked, hurrying over to the door. On the other side, as fit my memory, was the boy who'd helped me get to the Resistance Base all those days ago. At his side floated one of those pods, it's light blinking softly. 4S examined the room hesitantly, "Ah… so that's why my readings…" He shook his head. "May I come in?"

"Of course." I gestured before turning to the others. "Hey, this is 4S, the one who helped me get here that first time and saved me from the Goliath class machine… I think that's what their called."

As the door closed the others perked up. "Oh, so you saved my idiot brother… I… Thank you very much." Cath gave a thumbs up, relief covering her posture.

"Huh, so you saved him?" Gren chuckled. "Must have been quite the interesting situation."

I rolled my eyes and turned to 4S, who seemed a little overwhelmed before turning to me. "Um… I just came to install the computer…"

I winced and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry."

He seemed to stare at me for a while before shaking his head. "No… it's no problem…" He hesitated before reaching into what was probably his storage container and pulling out a couple gadgets. The pod swiveled around him, casting light into the area of the room he'd moved toward, it was to the right of the door closer to the corner.

Machael perked up and hurried around the table. "Hey, can I help?"

4S jerked, startled and quickly shook his head. "No, no. It's fine. I can handle it. There is no reason for you to get involved. It's my job after all."

Machael blinked and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's your job, but that doesn't mean you can't still use the help. Two hands are still better than one."

4S hesitated before smiling, seeming grateful, even with the visor obscuring most of his face. As the two worked he kept turning to face me, for some reason before returning to what he was doing.

As Machael said, it took almost no time at all for them to get it up and running. 4S let out a sigh of relief as Machael grinned in delight. "Thanks man, that was pretty cool to see. So these types of computers aren't that different from what we're used to."

"I… wouldn't know…" He hesitated head turning toward me before promptly jerking away.

"Do you have an obsession with my brother or something? I've been watching you two work and you keep turning to face him almost every minute." Cath rolled her eyes.

4S looked startled, stumbling over his words. "No, nothing of the sort." His sharp voice wasn't quite enough to hide the short stutter. "I'm just curious what happened after I left him… that's all." He shrugged before turning. "Anyway, that is none of my business. I should probably-"

"Yeah… no." Gren cut him off, stepping in front of him, arms crossed. "You've been nervous since you stepped in here."

"Is there something wrong?" Henry piped up, catching 4S attention. He looked back, not moving for a long time before slowly turning to me.

"No, really…" He hesitated.

"Incoming message from Operator 5O, connecting…" The pod hummed before a screen popped up in front of him, startling us.

From the angle I was at, I could see a woman. She had long black hair pulled back in a high ponytail and sharp blue eyes. A mask covered the lower part of her face and she seemed to be looking down. "4S, it's time for your daily report you know-" She looked up and blinked. "Though, first… where are you?"

"Oh… uh… 5O this is…"

5O stared for a long time before shrugging. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Anemone asked you to take care of something awkward again and you got caught up with strangers?"

"Something like that…" He tilted his head toward me, causing the woman to look my way before facing him once more.

"I thought as much, just like that time with the amusement park and the old cas-" She did a double take, scrutinizing me briefly before smiling widely. "Oh! Is that the boy you helped the other day? You're right he does-"

"5O!"

"Oh, right." She actually chuckled. "My apologies." She glanced over toward me. "My apologies for interrupting. I did not realize the situation. My name is 5O, a YoRHa operator, and you are?"

"Er… My names Al…" I found myself saying as she watched me.

"Al huh?" She hummed before turning back to 4S. "Well, as much as I would like to meet everyone there, if I don't do my job and get a report from you my ass is in trouble. Commandy is-"

"Oh, are you on the bunker?" Machael stepped forward, getting into her line of sight.

"Of course, all Operators are stationed on the bunker I thought-"

"Yes," 4S interrupted. "Why do you ask?" I could almost see 5O's eyes narrow but she didn't say anything else.

Machael raised an eyebrow before turning to her. "Is it possible for us to get in contact with the commander?"

5O winced. "Yeah… about that. My apologies. Not only is it definitely against protocol, but commandy- I mean, the commander, is actually busy at the moment. We're still recovering from the latest Machine attack which seemed to have occurred across the globe mind you, and she's been rather agitated about something else, she's pacing quite a bit lately actually… And, last I heard, she decommissioned an Operator for interrupting her, and I'd much rather prefer staying in commission and working with 4S here."

Machael sighed. "Oh… that's… alright. If she's available just let her know that we'd like to talk with her if she gets the chance."

"Of course, I can forward that message." She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you HEAR what I just said? I am NOT getting decommissioned thank you."

"Right…" Machael raised an eyebrow and quickly backed off, not that I blamed him. 4S sighed.

"Alright then, 4S, I will be needing that report, but I'll give you some time to get your act together, I think I can get away with that much, got it?"

"Thanks 5O."

"Of course, be a good boy now!"

He went to respond, only for the screen to shut off in his face.

"She's a charmer." Gren spoke up.

"She's usually not that bad…" 4S sighed. "Anyway, as you can see, I am a bit busy so…"

"4S, may I ask you a question?" Rebecca spoke up, catching his attention. When he turned she eyed him carefully. "Do you… happen to know?"

He stiffened before turning. "I'm sorry, I gotta go." Before any of us could stop him he outright bolted past Gren, causing her to yelp and disappeared around the corner, using all his android speed at max, or so it seemed.

"Well… that answers that…" Rebecca said.

"Not… really…" Gren muttered before sighing. "All we know is that he knows _something_ and that he seems to have some form of attachment to our _friend_ Al here."

"You don't have to make it sound so sarcastic…" I muttered.

Gren winced. "Right… sorry… didn't mean it that way."

The apology, while welcome, was surprising nonetheless.

I shook my head and turned to Machael. "So, why did you want to talk to the Commander?"

"Simple. I want to know who she is and what she's thinking. If what Anemone said is true, than we don't have much time before she comes swooping in to protect us… and who knows how much freedom we'll have after that. Of course, I figured it was a gamble, but it was still worth a shot."

"Right… and if we're Gods…" Emma spoke quietly.

"We won't HAVE freedom." Gren pointed out. "They'll want to keep us under surveillance at all times with no chance of finding a way home and… this is just my assumption with religion, but if you met a God and found out they were leaving… would you let them go?"

We all fell into silence as she let out a breath.

"It's something worth thinking about." Rebecca stood, catching our attention. "But we've done a lot of talking already. Why not spend some time relaxing and getting our thoughts in order, if we keep trying to figure everything out, it won't get us anywhere. Understood? Once we can figure out what we've learned, than we can go from there?" She stepped over to the radio and turned it on. "Personally, I want to listen in on the radio and see what the androids have to say, maybe there might even be an entertainment station."

Considering the look in everyone's eyes when she said that… this was going to be an interesting night…

* * *

Phew... finally DONE with that chapter. Don't worry, we'll be getting into the 'nier automata storyline' soon. But, I like me some character interaction and they are all definitely needed. Plus we meet 4S again! So yay?

Anyway, once again, thank you all for the awesome reviews, follows, and faves. You guys are the BEST and I mean it. It means the world to me when I see a review. Thanks everybody!


	13. Chapter 13

I was right- no one really wanted to listen to the same thing, I was honestly surprised the radio didn't just snap and break with all the tugging and dial changing. I think I heard a music channel, a news channel… actually a lot of news channels and than finally an entertainment channel- well, entertainment for androids it seemed.

"It's weird to hear them talk about ancient artifacts while talking about the purpose of electric cars…"

I nodded, having taken one of the beds to stretch out on and relax. I was not about to fight over the radio when I wasn't really listening anyway.

Eventually the group split between those listening to the radio and those playing a game of what seemed to be cards… wait, when did they- Oh… one of them probably asked when Popola came earlier. Didn't know they still had cards around, but it's not surprising I guess. I watched them play for a bit before deciding to join in. It wasn't going to hurt and I need something to do.

Conversation was mostly relaxed with us never really delving to deeply into any one topic. Sometimes it was just basic conversation about the 'weather' and other times it was generalized talking of what games we'd played in the past. It seemed no one really wanted to think to deeply on the situation we were in and, I guess I couldn't blame them. As antsy as some of us probably were to do something, what could we actually do?

Popola arrived a little later for dinner, bringing a whole basket of fruits and vegetables. Now, usually I wasn't a fan of some of the things there but, I was hungry so, screw it, I'll eat Brussel sprouts if I have to, or whatever mutations they deformed into over the years. It was only a few minutes after she left when we heard a knock on our door.

I was the closest so, with a sigh, I walked over, opening the door enough to peak out. 9S stood in the doorway, his mood seeming quite chipper with 2B close behind, watching. He waved his hand, grinning, "Evening Al. Anemone said you would all be here."

What time was it again? I wanted to ask but instead let out a yawn turning away from the door and letting them in. 9S peered around, a hint of amusement on his lips before speaking once more. "It seems like everyone's here… did everyone stay in this room today?"

"Unfortunately…" Gren groused, lounging on the bed with Henry curled up near the foot, asleep, they'd stopped playing when Popola arrived and I'm guessing the food was probably sitting pretty heavily in everyone's stomachs.

I shrugged, taking note of the pod floating besides both 2B and 9S. I could hear a faint hum from them both and frowned.

"Those pods, they weren't humming last time-"

"Oh, this? It's fine!" 9S broke in, suddenly nervous. "It's just protocol and all."

Machael stepped closer to one, examining it closely before slowly turning to 9S. "Are those things recording us?"

The pod twitched, moving away from him to 9S's other side.

9S sheepishly fidgeted as the pod swiveled around him.

"This pod is obligated to record and maintain all data in accordance-" The pod began, only to be cut off by Gren.

"So yes." Gren sighed, shoulders slumping. "Let's just get this over with, did you want something?"

9S seemed to slump before rallying himself. Too bad his visor was back on considering how hard it was to see his emotions. "Well… A couple things really, though mostly I just wanted to check up on you since we were free for the rest of the evening. I think 2B did too, she just doesn't want to admit it."

2B outright sighed. "9S, do not put words into my mouth…"

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Nines?" He practically whined.

"Nines? That's cute." Gren chuckled, earning a grin from 9S.

"Yeah, one of the Operator, 6O I think, came up with it, neat right?"

I took a seat, rolling my eyes as I watched the exchange. It really was amazing… all the different androids… and to think… Speaking of, "So you wanted to check up on us?" I asked, curious. "Any particular reason?"

"Well… yes but… it's not… urgent?" 9S said in a way that sounded a lot more like a question. 2B was off to one side, arms crossed and Gren seeming to be annoying her, if the frown was any indication.

I nodded before pausing and frowning. "Hey… 9S? 2B?" I turned to the two of them, drawing their attention fully and causing Gren to glance over as well, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think of the fact that we're human?"

Both practically froze. 2B turned her face toward the doorway, away from all of us. 9S tilted his head, deep in thought, "Al… I'm… why are you…" He trailed off before letting out a sigh. "What am I supposed to say? I guess… I'm… happy. I've never gotten a chance to meet a human before and now there are so many of you… I want to learn all about you, about Humans, their culture, their life, why…" He shook his head. "I guess I want to ask why we were made the way we were but… I know you won't be able to answer that question…" He smiled faintly. "I can't help but to feel happy to be in the presence of Humans, and yet… I don't want to force myself on any of you. I know humans are fragile. Yet… to us… you seem so…" He shook his head, turning to 2B. "I really don't know but… what about you 2B?

2B jumped, something I never thought I would see from the woman. She turned hesitant. "I have nothing to say-"

"Oh come on, we both know that's a lie." 9S wheedled. 2B hesitated once more.

"Proposal: 2B should explain the situation as group opinion may decrease due to illogical actions."

"Pod, this is an order, while we are in this room you will remain silent, understood?" 2B's voice shook even as her words came out biting. Yikes…

"Affirmative…"

Did I sense a hint of hesitation? Probably just my imagination.

"Oh 2B, you don't have to be that harsh… You still haven't answered the question though." 9S smiled.

"9S, it is none of your concern, however, I will admit to appreciating the fact that there are beings that are willing listen to reason." She turned away from 9S, earning a pout from the boy.

"If you say so…" 9S sighed, shrugging.

Henry, who must have heard the commotion sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Did I miss something?" He muttered with a small yawn.

I turned in time to see 2B almost wilt slightly as Henry perked up. "Oh! 2B! 9S! I didn't know you were here. Did you know we met 4S today?" Henry pushed his legs over the side of the bed, watching them innocently.

"Just 2B here saying that she appreciates our willingness to listen to reason, as her reasoning for liking us humans." Gren grinned.

"Oh… thanks?" Henry put in, voice a bit hesitant. He looked around. "So what now?"

I hummed, amused, as the other exchanged looks. 2B seemed to slump with relief when we switched off the topic. I guess I didn't realize just how uncomfortable we'd made her…

9S chuckled before turning to us. "Well, we have tomorrow off, so, if you need anything. Just let us know, okay?"

"Where are you going after that?" Henry asked and I had a feeling that all of us were willing to let him talk since the androids seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for him, no surprise really.

"We have a crucial mission-"

"She means we're going someplace nearby to check out, I heard about it from one of the local androids and found myself curious."

"Oh~ Where?" Gren leaned forward. "I happened to overhear about an Amusement Park, is that near here?"

"How-"

"4S was here earlier like Henry said." I sighed.

"Yeah, and he was a wee bit obsessed with my brother here." Cath laughed as I sent her a look.

"4S?" 9S glanced back at 2B before turning to face us. "What was he doing here?"

"Installing the computer behind you." Machael shrugged. "You both were still on your assignment, so Anemone figured he was the best bet."

9S frowned before shrugging. "Well, you're not wrong. We scanners are good at that sort of thing…" He hesitated before turning to the group. "Also, I do have one request that I mentioned earlier, as you realized these guys are recording-"

"Of course…" Gren mumbled.

"-So… we were wondering if we could get some information from you all on how you managed to be here. All we know is that we found you all in an old abandoned building but that's it."

We exchanged looks, hesitant before Machael spoke up. "Not much to say really. Our bus, well vehicle, crashed on our way here and we had to scramble for cover. We don't know how we got here, or anything more than that. Sorry."

I was admittedly surprised he didn't mention the dimensional travel, but I could also understand. 2B looked noticable displeased by the lack of information but 9S didn't seem to mind, thinking it over. "I see. You have no idea how your vehicle got here?"

"None."

"… Alright…" 9S sighed. "I guess we'll have to leave it at that, I have more questions, but…" He glanced over the group, who seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep. "I guess I'll ask them tomorrow, I didn't realize how late it would be for you all. If that's okay with you."

"That's fine." Cath spoke up, startling me. "We'll probably speak to you tomorrow morning."

9S turned to her, seeming startled before nodding. "Alright, well, we'd best get going. If you need us, just let us know." He walked over to the computer, jotting in a few sheets of code before turning to us. "And I just linked the computer to contact either myself or 2B. Just press our number respectively and you'll be able to get ahold of us."

"Sounds good." I let out a yawn, feeling tired. 9S waved good-bye as 2B practically raced out of the building. We watched them go before glancing at each other.

"So… an amusement park." I raised an eyebrow, causing Gren to blush and shrug.

"What? I need SOMETHING to do."

"I'm sorry Gren, but I don't think it's a good idea to leave-"

"Why not? Just because of the machines? If we cower here because of them we won't get anywhere and, I mean, don't you want to get home?" She whirled on Machael. "And why didn't you mention the dimensional trav-"

"They were recording us in a way that made us aware of the recording. Why do you think they did that?" Machael pointed out with a frown, causing her to shut up.

"To scare us? To make us nervous?" Emma voiced quietly.

We all sat in silence for a few minutes before Gren let out a faint noise of annoyance. "Look, right now all we're doing is staying in here just waiting to be picked up or off. I don't want to be sitting around, I want to DO something. I would have asked them when they came but I figured we should talk about it first."

"Then why didn't we talk about it earlier when we literally had all day?" I deadpanned.

Gren rolled her eyes, pointing her finger toward me. "Maybe because we didn't really think too much about it until we heard they were literally recording us to find out where we came from. I'm sorry, but that bugs me. They are doing more work than us and I can't stand it. Yet I figured we would make a census or something to decide the best option. I don't feel like dealing with any hissy-fits because we didn't talk it over ahead of time, instead of just jumping right in."

I pursed my lips, annoyed but understanding, which only seemed to annoy me farther. Gosh darn it Gren…

"But what about the machines?" Henry asked, hesitant. "If you get caught by a flying one or-"

"Then we won't." She shrugged. "I mean, I know that sounds callous, but as long as we stay under cover and keep an eye out, we should be fine. right? Plus, guys, we've been out there before and… I mean… if we ask someone like 9S and 2B to go with us there shouldn't be any issue, right?"

I frowned, not liking the idea in the slightest.

"Come on Al, she's right. We can't just stay around here doing nothing. We need to know more about this place, and the data archives are only going to give us so much…" Cath glanced toward me.

"I… I don't agree with this but-" I raised a hand as Gren started to argue. "I also understand we do need to do something." I let out a sigh. "We all know how dangerous it is out there. We would be stupid not too. So, if you can convince Anemone and either Devola and Popola OR 2B and 9S to go with you than whoever wants to go, can go."

I heard a cheer from, surprisingly enough, my sister, Gren, Henry, and Emma. The only ones who didn't were Machael, myself, and Rebecca. That was… a little worrying. I could hear Rebecca talking with Henry as Machael glanced over toward me.

What else was I supposed to do? There was no way I would be able to convince everyone to not go, especially since some people, like my sister, already seemed to have their minds made up. At least this way they would have someone who knows the area that can watch over them. "I will reiterate." I brought my finger up, pointing toward each of the ones who wanted to go. "You can only go if you get Anemone's agreement and if either both Devola and Popola or both 2B and 9S agree as well to go with you. Lastly, you will tell us who is going, got it?"

"Sounds good!" Cath saluted with a grin, "What about you guys?" She turned to the others who nodded in agreement. I let out a sigh and threw my arms up. There was no way I would be able to stop them. So, deciding to just not bother, I headed toward the bed and crashed into it, tired. I'll deal with it in the morning.

When I awoke it must have been late because the only one's there were Rebecca - who was quietly listening to a music channel on the radio which sounded like some mixed up version of orchestral and pop… maybe? - and Machael, who seemed to be tinkering with something, wires peaking out from the device. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"Morning Al." Rebecca called, glancing over. "Everyone decided they wanted to go out to talk with who they want to go with." She sighed. "They said they would tell us who they were going with later."

"You were okay with it?" I asked, taking a seat as a yawn slipped out.

"Not really, but Henry really wanted to go and I know he needs some time to get out and about…" She looked down at the table, tracing the edge with her finger. "I'm his mother, I'm going to worry about him… but…"

"It's a bit of a difficult situation right now and all of us probably need a bit of time away from each other, right?" Machael popped over, plopping himself into a seat before leaning against me. "After all, our great leader decided it would be a good idea to let them do what they want."

"Do you really think I could have stopped them?" I deadpanned earning a chuckle as he pulled back and shrugged.

"Probably not."

I rolled my eyes, feeling my stomach growl, the other two glanced over as I curled inward, sheepishly. "Uh…"

"Let's get something to eat, the others might be there as well." Rebecca stood, heading toward the door. Machael reached over, tugging me up as I let out a yelp. I pulled my arm away as we slipped out the door, heading toward the kitchen. Thankfully the other two seemed to remember how to get there. We slipped into the kitchen to find Devola cooking. She jumped, glancing back at us.

"I was wondering where the rest of you all were. Sleeping in I see." She grinned as I shrugged, glancing around. "If you are looking for your friends, they said they wanted to look for 9S and 2B…" She shook her head as she pulled away from the pan she was cleaning, heading over to the stock. "So, do you want something to eat?"

I frowned, so they were going to talk with those two. I didn't mind as much, but…

"That would be great, thank you." Machael pipped up, pushing me forward. I stumbled, glaring at him as Rebecca took a seat on the same chairs she was sitting in the other day. I followed her example, plopping down where Cath sat the day before. It wasn't long before Devola placed some meat and fruit in front of us. I chowed down on the food, lost in thought.

"I'm guessing there is a reason you all are doing your own things?" Devola asked as she finished cleaning some of the pans.

"Some of us just needed some fresh air, I think." Machael shrugged before glancing over toward me. "This guy decided it was okay as long as they went out with someone."

I would have argued, but at the moment I didn't feel like it, finishing off the last of the meat… I was hungry… A strange sound rang around the room and I glanced over to the communicator. Machael stood, hurrying over to pick it up as Devola raised an eyebrow, placing her tools down.

The screen lit up to showcase 9S. "Machael, your up. Cath, Henry, Emma and Gren wanted me to let you know that they were heading o-"

"Hey! 9S! Let me speak with my brother for a sec. He's probably up now, right?" Gren's voice echoed from the speaker. I sighed and stood, walking over as 9S squeaked but let her take over, her face popping up on screen.

"Hey Machael! Is my brother finally up?"

"You literally just said I would probably be up." I deadpanned, causing her to grin sheepishly. I could hear 9S in the background talking with one of the others.

My sister shrugged. "Hey Al, good to see you up. As promised we decided to go out. 2B and 9S said it was okay as long as we listened to them about everything… though mostly 9S, 2B seemed a little reluctant but you know her. Anemone said it was fine as well, as long as we're back within a two hour time frame. Oh, and Gren, Henry and Emma are with me, we're going together."

I sighed before giving her a faint smile. "I guess you did keep your promise, just… be careful out there, okay? And come back soon."

"Of course Al…" She paused, hesitating before looking at me. "Don't worry, I won't mess up again." I blinked, confused as she waved good-bye before hurrying away. I stared as 9S took back over, just barely showing a hint of confusion.

I wanted to ask what she meant but he smiled. "Well, I got to cut off the conversation here. I haven't noticed any machines in the area so there shouldn't be any issue. But I would rather keep this short. I'll call if anything comes up?"

"Sounds good." I couldn't help but smile, earning a warm expression in return, 9S seeming almost giddy before he waved good-bye and cut off the connection.

I frowned as I thought over the conversation. What had my sister meant by again? I frowned, trying to think over the last few days but sighed, coming up with nothing. Cath had been doing everything she could while she was here, unlike me…

"Well, at least we know where they are." Machael pointed out and I sent him a look. He threw his hands up before turning to Rebecca. "And are you okay? I mean-"

"I'm fine Machael, thank you." She shook her head and walked over to Devola. "Here, let me help you with that."

Devola blinked, startled, before finally relinquishing. She probably would have argued, if not for the look of fierce determination and annoyance on Rebecca's face. I turned away, deciding it was probably better just to let her be. Machael leaned back, chuckling. I sent him a look and he shrugged, leaving it at that.

There wasn't really much to say after that, all of us deep in thought. Eventually, maybe less then a half hour later, we ended up back at the room with Rebecca asking Machael how to use the communicator. I had no doubt she wanted to be able to contact them on her own terms. Why she didn't ask with Devola around, I had no idea. Thankfully it didn't seem too hard, but both Rebecca and myself refrained from calling them. I'm not sure what Rebecca's reasoning was, but mine was simple. I didn't really want to bother them. My sister needs her time away from me and me from her, so it was not surprising…

Doesn't mean I wasn't worried sick. But I trusted 9S and, if anything came up, I knew my sister could take care of herself.

"So… change of topic…" Machael called, garnering our attention. "It's kind of quiet without conversation, so I hope you don't mind me interrupting."

"Yes Machael?" Rebecca sighed, earning a toothy grin from the boy.

"Well, I was just curious really…" His expression turned down and he pursed his lips. "I've been wondering since we got here… and was reminded last night when talking to 9S... it's about the bus… where was everyone going? Before this…"

I stared at him, wondering where this came from, he outright shifted under our incredulous looks and shrugged. "Okay, I know this is from left field but… I've been wondering and I don't really want to depress everyone with it, but we still need general information to understand how we ended up in this situation like 9S said yesterday, and I generally know the bus route, but…"

"And the reason you waited was because you didn't want to upset the others?" Rebecca asked.

"Partially, yes, and partially because I wasn't sure how to ask it up until this point." He shrugged. "After all, I was a little out of it when we first arrived, as you might recall, and once we got here… there hasn't really been a chance."

I couldn't argue with him.

"I see…" Rebecca hesitated before looking toward the communicator. "Henry and I… we were on our way to pick up my husband from the airport. He probably could have taken a cab, but… Henry was really excited to see his father again, so I wasn't going to stop him. We couldn't find a cab so last minute and I knew the bus would take us around that way, so I decided to take it…"

"And then we ended up in this mess…" Machael leaned back. "Damn… I know I was just getting away from home for a bit, wanted to cool off…" He shook his head. "And what about you Aly-boy?"

"Aly… boy…" I deadpanned and he grinned toothily.

"What? Don't like it? Sorry, just trying to lift the mood a little."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue beyond that, because I could understand, as much as the nickname was absolutely terrible. "As for me…" I trailed off thinking back to that day. The project I'd been working on all the way up until Cath interrupted me… "I was heading to a book signing… I'm a to-be-published author you see and I had been getting ready up until then…" I frowned. "I had planned to get on the bus before that one, but my alarm didn't go off…" My frown deepened as something about that statement tugged at me.

"Huh? Why not?" Machael raised an eyebrow. "As reckless as I've heard you've been, you seem to know what your doing… usually."

"Thanks…" I rolled my eyes, but pursed my lips. "I think…" I stilled as realization dawned on me. "My sister…" I slowly tilted my head up to catch the others attention. "My sister had screwed up my alarm and then decided to wait till the last minute to warn me…" I bit my lip. "Because of that we ended up on that bus instead of the one I was planning on taking and… we ended up here… Crap…"

"Huh?" Machael glanced over as I slowly turned my head up, worry suddenly filling my gut.

I glanced between them before looking over to the communicator. "My sister… my sister is why I was on that bus and… has she realized that? If so… when she said again… Shit!" I scrambled to my feet, hurrying over to the computer. I wasn't sure why, but part of me was panicking beyond belief. Why? She was with others and was not going to be going anywhere out right dangerous. 9S and 2B wouldn't allow that, so… Why was I suddenly so worried?

"Wait, your sister?" Rebecca asked, hesitant.

I nodded, typing in 9S's code. If I was right, if my memory was right then… Did that mean she- I cut my thoughts off as the system rang for a moment before connecting.

"9S speaking-"

"9S, it's me, Al." I cut in with a frown.

I wasn't sure, but it sounded like 9S somewhat choked for a moment. "Eh… Al? I can't talk right now-"

"It's fine, I'll be quick. I need to speak with my sister about something."

"Um… Al, I can't…" I could have sworn there was almost a hint of fear in his voice and that was solidified a moment later when he continued, "We got attacked and… now we can't find her."

I froze. Hand dropping away from the screen as the other two hurried over.

"Is everyone else alright?" Rebecca demanded. Slamming her hands on either side of the communicator.

"Yes, everyone else is fine, Henry got a little banged up but-"

"Henry! Where's my son-"

"Mom! I'm fine." Henry's voice cut in, sounding a little shaken but fine. "We're safe, but… we don't know where Cath is. She tried to protect me, but…"

I slowly took a step back, then another. So I was right… Cath… "Did you… did you blame yourself for what happened?" I muttered quietly, shock permeating my body. I wanted to collapse, my worry suddenly making much more sense. I think I did, feeling the rough wood of the chair under my fingers as I shook. Machael glanced between me and Rebecca before turning to the modem once more. I wonder what Rebecca's feeling. Is she like me?

"9S, where are you?" Machael asked seriously.

"At the amusement park…"

"Alright-"

I found myself on my feet, surging forward. "It's not alright." I glared before turning to 9S. "Stay where you are and keep everyone safe, I'll be there soon." I cut off the connection before turning to Machael. "What are Devola and Popola's codes?"

He jumped before typing them in, not saying a word. It wasn't a moment later when the connection popped up. "Devola. I need your help."

"Huh?"

"I need to get to the Amusement Park. Now." I wasn't about to leave my sister out there alone. If she didn't want to be found… she wouldn't be and I couldn't stand to let that happen. "Please… Help me find my sister."

* * *

 **Welcome back!**

I'm excited to give you this next section and to show you that things are moving along... so watch out!

Also... You guys... you guys mean the WORLD to me. The faves, the follows and, most importantly, the reviews. You have no idea how much I cherish each and every review I get. I would do a special shout-out but, that would be favoritism, right? So I'll just say this, to the reviewers who've been with me since the beginning and still continue to stick with me both here and elsewhere... Thank you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.


	14. Chapter 14

Silence invaded the room as I let out a long breath, realizing what I just said, I winced as a strange expression crossed Devola's face. "What do you mean?" Her words were breathless, agitated almost. I caught myself for a moment, pulling in my frazzled thoughts. Okay, deep breaths.

"We… we just called 9S because I wanted to check on my sister," I explained slowly, catching Rebecca and Machael's attention. Machael shrugged while Rebecca nodded, telling me to continue. "When I called… 9S said that they were attacked and that my sister went missing…" I bit my lip. "I know… I knew it was dangerous to let them go out, but I figured if 9S, 2B and Anemone were all willing to let them then… it was okay."

I looked up, noting as Devola listened to every word, not interrupting, as I expected her to. I pursed my lips and glanced aside. "I know it's stupid, I know I'm being an idiot by wanting to go after her, for you to help me find her but… Devola. She's the only family I have here. I know her… She's not going to let herself be found if she doesn't want to." I pulled back, hesitating for the longest time before letting my shoulders droop. "I NEED to go there. I need to help find her… Can you help me?" My voice took on a pleading tone at the end, no matter how hard I tried to keep it even. My mind was in a complete state of panic, but somehow I'd managed to get my words across to her… at least, I hope I did.

Devola took a deep breath, seeming absolutely shaken. She almost seemed to be holding back tears. I shook my head, attributing it to my imagination and… slight, very slight, worry.

Oh, who was I kidding. I wanted to just barge out of here and run there, but I know, for a fact, I would not make it anywhere close. Devola turned away, seeming to try to calm herself, her expression indecipherable with the hair blocking her face.

"Devola. My son is there…" Rebecca spoke gently.

"I… why did you… why didn't you call Anemone?" Devola turned back to me, expression once more serious, but, even at this angle, I could see her hands shaking considerably.

I hesitated, why DIDN'T I call Anemone? "Because she's already done a lot for us and I don't want to stress her out even more. I know my sister's probably alright and I trust 9S and 2B but… I need to KNOW and to do that I need to go there. Do you really think Anemone would be willing to let me go?" I spoke softly, my thoughts finally getting back into order.

She stared at me for the longest time, before giving me a barely perceptible grin. "That… Thank you Al. My sister and I will be over soon." With that she cut off the connection, surprising me. I blinked, startled at the sudden cut off in our conversation, staring at the now black screen.

"Do you really think we could actually go WITHOUT Anemone realizing?" Machael turned to me with a raised eyebrow and an upturned lip. "Come on Ally-boy. That's as likely as one of those machine's actually wanting to give us a hug that doesn't involve crunching bone."

My fingers twitched at the nickname and I sent him a glare as Rebecca pulled me over to the chairs to sit down. I let her guide me, plopping into a chair and letting my head drop onto the table in the process. "I don't feel like arguing with you Machael."

"Oh boy…" He sighed taking a seat while Rebecca joined him. We just kind of sat there, not knowing what to say to each other.

After a few minutes, I glanced over to Rebecca, who seemed to be deep in thought, and sat up. "How are you holding up?" I decided to ask, momentarily pulling from my own thoughts. As I said, my sister could take care of herself… didn't mean I wasn't worried beyond belief.

She glanced up at me before giving me a faint smile. "I'll be fine. Thank you for asking Al." She hesitated before fulling turning toward me. "However, how are we going to convince them to bring us?"

I hesitated, bowing my head. I had no idea… none whatsoever. "I… I wish I knew…"

A silence filled the room for a moment before Machael clicked his tongue. "We're seen as gods, right?" He leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table. "Well, why not use that to our advantage?"

I glanced toward him with a raised eyebrow. "And how would we do that?"

"Well, I mean, is there something that they might want?"

"What could we even give them? Last time I checked-"

"They were androids… created by man…" Rebecca cut me off, startling me before snapping her finger, seeming to realize something I didn't. "Knowledge." She turned to me. "Knowledge of history, of humankind. Maybe even… telling them everything we know about how we arrived here."

My eyes widened in realization, but before we could discuss more a sharp sound rang out from the doorway. I scrambled to my feet, hurrying over. The door swung open by the combined combo of me pulling and Devola almost outright barging in. Popola was right behind, hurrying after her. "Devola! Slow down!" she called before spotting me.

I grimaced, shaking out my hand, barely having let go in time when I felt it turn. "Devola, Popola. We didn't expect you so soon." Rebecca stood, surprise shining on her face.

Popola closed the door, catching my eye as Devola stepped forward, a hint of hesitancy in her movement. Her gaze drifted between the three of us before stopping on me. "My sister and I came as quickly as we could…" She hesitated, seemingly warring with herself as I let out a breath of relief.

"Thanks guys." I smiled weakly. "Did you tell Anemone?" I couldn't help but ask, worried. I would be surprised if they didn't so-

"You asked for our help, right?" Popola asked, scooting forward and I stilled, realizing what she meant. "And I remember the conversation your… the conversation Cath had with you. If we can get there, find your friend, and get back in the next hour there should be no problems, correct?"

"Wait, you're really helping us without saying anything to her?" Machael burst out, startled.

Devola winced as Popola looked away. "There's a bit more to it then that…" Devola lifted her hand before pointing it at each of us. "Anemone has done a lot for us and we really don't want to betray that trust, but we also understand that you need help and we're willing to give it under… some conditions."

Just like Machael and Rebecca said… I wasn't surprised but I was a bit worried.

Thankfully, she seemed to notice my nervousness because she pulled back a little. "Basically, each of you owe us a favor… and one of you needs to stay here-"

"No can do." Machael sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "All three of us go or…" He glared, tension practically exuding from him.

"Or what?" Devola tilted her head slightly, raising an eyebrow. I winced, there wasn't really an 'or' involved… we didn't have any power per se except for knowledge, and they already were getting that, probably, with the favors…

I let out a sigh. "Machael, I get what you are trying to do but there's not much we can do about it…" I glanced over toward him, noticing an odd expression cross his face.

"What are you saying?" His voice dropped into almost a whisper. "That someone NEEDS to stay behind?"

"Well…" I frowned. Was their really an option otherwise? And honestly, between the three of us, Machael was the only one who didn't REALLY need to go. I needed to check on my sister and Rebecca her son…

"Is their no way the three of us can go? I think all of us would like to make sure they are okay." Rebecca defended, catching my attention, a stern look on her face. "Is it any safer having just ONE of us staying here?"

Hesitancy shown on their faces as I found myself unable to keep track of the conversation. I mean, I knew what they were talking about but… something in the way Rebecca spoke, the hesitancy and fidgetting between the twins, the anger and hurt on Machael's face… it seemed like I was missing something…

But before I could figure it out Popola spoke up, voice faint. "If only we could… The problem is Anemone would notice if their were no humans walking around, she might even come to this room to check. I can only dissuade her so much but… if we had another human stay, she's less likely to ask and…" Popola shook her head. "Devola can't protect all three of you." She pointed out.

Finding myself unable to really argue with her point I sighed and turned to Machael. "Machael, I know you are not keen on staying but-"

He stared at me, pursing his lips as a guarded expression crossed his face. "Ah… I see…" he ground out before looking away. " "Fine, I'll stay." The harshness of his voice surprised me. Why did he want to leave so badly? It was stupid and dangerous… And yes, that meant I was calling myself stupid, I realized, but it wasn't wrong.

So… why was everyone so willing to leave? Just because of boredom? As I watched Machael, I found myself wondering.

Unfortunately, Machael seemed to notice, gesturing for me to continue, an impassive expression on his face. I wasn't sure I wanted to but… I needed to check on my sister and we already spent a lot of time on this already. I turned to Devola, who was examining us. "Alright… so what do we need to do?"

She seemed more than a little relieved at our, supposed, agreement. But it still made me hesitate as I pulled myself back to what Devola mentioned earlier. Why wouldn't they talk with Anemone about it? Because they agree it would stress Anemone out? That didn't seem to be the case since they've brought things up prior… Is it because I asked specifically for their help? No… I did that earlier…

Was it the combination?

I shook my head before taking a seat once more. "Actually, before that… two things. One, since Machael is staying, doesn't that mean we only owe you two favors?"

Everyone seemed to jerk, surprised and I frowned. They didn't have to seem that surprised that I was paying attention to the conversation…

Devola and Popola exchanged looks, but it was Rebecca that spoke. "He's right, since you are only working to get two of us out, only Al and myself owe you two… is that fair?"

After some deliberation the twins seemed to agree and I noticed a hint of relief pass over Machael's face. Weird, but I didn't mind. "Now, my second question. How do we leave without letting Anemone know? I know you mentioned having Machael speak with Anemone but-"

"Don't worry, we've gotten it taken care of." Devola spoke up with a smirk. "Especially since, as you said, Machael will be distracting Anemone."

I frowned before letting out a sigh, conceding.

I turned my attention on the communicator, once more worried. That's great and all that they know what they are doing, but that lead me to wondering, again… wouldn't 9S have let Anemone know? Why didn't he let us know until we called him? It seemed strange that he was so hesitant to tell me, not just because of how I would take it… I winced, thinking that over. Never mind, he was probably being pretty wise at not telling me…

"So… HOW do you plan for them to leave?" Machael pointed out, leaning forward, elbow on the table. "I doubt Anemone would allow them to leave just like that even if we tell her a lie. Or as you so, kindly, put it, if I was distracting her."

"You are correct, we don't really want to lie to her, and we know you can only distract her for so long. Personally we would prefer going by ourselves but…"

"That wouldn't be part of the deal, right?" Machael grunted. "After all, Al here needs to be there to find his wayward sister and Rebecca needs to check on her son. Those two at least are not planning on staying behind and twiddling their thumbs."

Didn't we already have this conversation? "Machael, are you okay?" I found myself asking, noting the harsh tone in his voice.

"Huh?" He turned to me before rolling his eyes. "Why would you ask?" He sighed and leaned back. "Either way, you need to leave now. Get going already."

He waved to us, his movements sharp, angry. I bit my lip before nodding. "Thanks Machael…" He blinked as I nodded, noting the way my leg was fidgeting from a need to move. But feeling a little disconcerted about Machael's attitude. Technically it's safer here so… why is he so upset? "So, are we going?" I finally asked, turning to Devola.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on Anemone and the camp with Machael, keep in touch, alright?" Popola said, watching us quietly. "Hopefully fewer people will draw less attention just… be careful." So she really was staying behind… I guess that made me feel a little better…

"Of course." Devola nodded. Popola hesitated before reaching toward her bag and pulling out some things that looked like gel, the same gel I'd used earlier when helping in the medical wing. Devola took it gratefully as Popola turned to Machael. Machael shrugged and, with barely a wave good-bye, slipped out the door.

"You sure?" Rebecca asked as Devola put the goods away. "You and your sister seem close."

"We are… which is why we're doing this. I trust my sister to keep an eye on things with Anemone, Machael and the other androids and she trusts me to get you to 9S safely… along with those they are rendezvousing with."

I jerked as she opened the door, gesturing for us to follow. Wait, rendezvous? What did she mean? Before I could ask, we were stepping out the door and heading toward the entrance. I could briefly see Popola up ahead, talking with one of the guards while checking the other one over for any damage. To the side, heading over to… Anemone? Wait, why was Machael going over to her already? Before I could really think it through, we were past the guards and down the slope.

Speaking of, those guards did not look too happy with Popola. I glanced back over my shoulder with a frown. The other thing being… We left awfully easy, almost in the blink of an eye… it was strange and worrying.

Rebecca stayed even with Devola, the two walking quietly ahead. Every so often I would see Rebecca glance over her shoulder before turning her attention forward once more.

While part of me wanted to bound ahead and join her, another part of me kept slowing down, lost in thought. After all, what did Devola mean by rendezvous? I wanted to ask but… the silence of the walk and surrounding area made me a little uncomfortable and I didn't really want to break said silence.

Thankfully, we were walking at a steady clip, the ever present sun beating down at us whenever we ventured away from the shade which, luckily, wasn't that often. Almost no machines appeared as we walked, startling me.

"I knew machine movement had been quiet around here lately… but this is something else." Devola spoke up, scanning the landscape. "I wonder if something caught their attention… are they in another part of the city?"

"It's possible but…" Rebecca frowned. "Silence isn't necessarily good…"

I pursed my lips, not wanting to agree, but finding myself unable to argue.

I noticed Rebecca glance over her shoulder once more, causing Devola, who was watching, to follow her gaze. "There's no one behind us…"

I noted how Rebecca wasn't really staring at me per se… but something else. I glanced over my shoulder with a frown before shaking my head and hurrying my pace. After all, we only had about a hour and a half to get there, find my sister and get back…

Should be totally doable… right?

Oh… what did I get myself into this time?

* * *

 **Hello folks!** Welcome back! So some of you have some valid concerns on what's going on in this story and where it's going and all. Hopefully, I'll be able to show you soon enough and assuage your worries! and if not, whoops? Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you in two weeks.


	15. Chapter 15

Devola stiffening up was all the warning I got before she whipped around, darting toward the building we just passed. I let out a yelp, barely following her movement as a strange startled cry sounded from the distance. I blinked, relaxing slightly as Rebecca walked up, even with me, amused.

Our source of amusement? Devola outright dragging 4S by the ear away from the building. "What were you doing? There was no reason to skulk behind us like that. You should be grateful I didn't attack you." Devola let go, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

4S rubbed his ear as he faced my way before turning his head back to her. "Right… sorry…"

"Why were you following us anyway? And in secret at that?" Rebecca spoke, voice gentle, but stern.

4S winced as Devola waited quietly. Rebecca and I stepped closer so there wasn't as much distance. 4S spotted me and slumped. "I… I was curious-"

Rebecca stiffened next to me, fists clenched and I frowned, taking note of the movement as 4S shifted and continued, "Actually, I was told to keep an eye on you all and so, when I happened to see you leaving I… followed. I wasn't really sure how to approach after that-"

"Did anyone else follow us?" Rebecca demanded, much to my surprise.

"No, they were all distracted by your friend." 4S walked up to her, just that little bit shorter than the woman. "Who else noticed?"

Huh?

"Most of us I think…" Rebecca responded before glancing at me. I blinked, finding myself tilting my head to the side in utter bewilderment. What the heck were they talking about?

4S nodded before turning to me, seeming sheepish. "Sorry…"

Devola let out a sigh and shrugged. "Well, one extra set of eyes will be helpful. Come on, we should get moving." She turned, continuing forward. I saw 4S scramble for a moment to catch up and frowned. Rebecca kept sparing glances back toward the android and I didn't blame her. I quickly caught up to the others just in time to see one of those pod things swing into sight, having caught up with 4S during our walk, or so I would have to assume.

"It's… okay that I'm joining you… right?" 4S spoke up, voice surprisingly hesitant. A moment of silence ensued before I let out a sigh and shrugged.

Rebecca, however, was the one who spoke. "It's alright 4S. While I don't agree with you following us like you did, as Devola mentioned, it's probably better to go with more androids than less."

A quick smile flitted on his face before he picked up his pace, a slight more happiness? To his step. That was the closest word I could think of. Speaking of…

I stared ahead, lost in thought. What were we going to do after we found the others? What did Rebecca mean about noticing? I mean, I could ask her and I might want to but… and anyway, What did the others notice that I somehow missed? The idea of missing anything in a situation such as this sent me on edge. Had I not been paying close attention?

I let out a sigh, squandering in my own thoughts was NOT going to get me anywhere. So, deciding my best course of action was to just ask, I went to open my mouth, only to freeze.

There was a faint hum and we all glanced toward 4S who pulled away standing straight before frowning and turning to us. "There's a broadcast coming through…"

"The council of Humanity broadcast?" Devola peered over to us, a strange expression on her face. "Already?"

4S nodded as he fidgeted with the pod that swung out from behind him. There was a moment of silence as we slipped into a nearby building, hidden out of sight just in case. That faint hum grew followed by a click.

A moment later, a somewhat masculine voice began to speak, ringing from the pod.

"The Council of Humanity has a message for all of our brave androids fighting on the surface. It has been several millennia since the aliens- and their advance force, the machine lifeforms- attacked us. Millennia since mankind was forced to evacuate to the surface of the moon. But thanks to your continued struggle, we have been able to survive. You, our android soldiers, are the last hope of humanity. We look forward to your continued success in combat. Glory to Mankind."

I listened, feeling uncomfortable. It was one thing to see the fight myself… it's another to hear… well… that…

"That was… uncanny." Rebecca frowned. "I couldn't even replicate that even if I were trying to… and believe me. Having taught for a while, I know what monotone sounds like…"

"Well, it is from the council of humanity on the moon server. They may be… stricter on wording?" 4S watched us carefully while Devola… Devola seemed to be scrutinizing us with a certain intensity that made me take a step back, almost unconsciously. Seeming to realize, she quickly shifted her attention elsewhere.

4S didn't seem to notice as the pod swung behind him, trailing at an even pace. "Anyway, I don't detect any machines so we should get moving, it's dangerous to stay in one place for too long."

I couldn't argue with that and, to be honest, the broadcast KINDA creeped me out. It seemed so… robotic. Who even speaks like that? I mean, as Rebecca said there was monotone. And believe me, I've had a few teachers that fit the bill well, but that…

But then, humanity could have changed over the thousands of years… this was a different world after all. "Speaking of, Rebecca, what were you-"

"This is taking too long," Devola cut in, surveying the surrounding landscape with a wary eye. "Do you mind if we ca-"

"You want to carry us? Like last time? Will that speed things up?" Rebecca asked, receiving a nod. Both glanced back toward me.

I let out a sigh, semi-frustrated at the interruption before shrugging. I had no qualms about the idea. If it would speed things up then why would I be upset with that? "That's fine. The sooner we get there, the better I will feel about this whole situation."

Rebecca smiled faintly as Devola hesitated before nodding.

The next thing I knew I'm letting out a yelp as my legs shifted out from under me and I felt us moving. I shifted enough to see 4S, finding myself clinging to him. I jerked, turning my head enough to see Devola carrying Rebecca in what seems to be bridal carry. Can they even run like that?

Considering the blurring surroundings, I was just going to go with it and say, yes they could.

And if you were curious, yes, I was trying hard NOT to think of how I was being carried. If it got me there faster, then screw it.

I'll complain later if anyone has anything to say about it.

Thankfully, not that much later we slid to a stop, and 4S let me down. I wobbled for a second before looking around. 4S, of all people, let out a quiet curse. I didn't even know the android could even do that… "We'll have to go through the sewers. I was hoping to take another route, but unfortunately, it would take longer. Hope you don't mind going through the sewers, it's the fastest route I could find."

I hesitated, looking up at the barricade. If this was the fastest way, I wasn't sure I wanted to know what the slow route was. The area was blocked off on two sides with buildings and a large mishmash of fencing on the third which created a rather distinct, if solid, barrier. Even the entrance to the area could almost be seen as a little alcove. In the middle was a way into the sewers, which Devola was already working to pry up.

Seemed she had no qualms with the idea.

I glanced up at the fence, finally noting how much my legs were aching. We had been walking for a long time before 4S and Devola sped up the process. I belatedly wondered how Machael was doing, but shook it off. He could take care of himself, and he was in a safe area with Popola and Anemone around. He would be fine.

A sharp sound echoed in my ears and 4S stiffened before whipping around to face the entranceway of the little alley we were in. Devola stilled, her entire body seeming to tense up. A faint sound like scraping echoed as 4S rapidly typed on his screen, utter confusion echoing from his voice. "I can't detect anything there! There aren't any electronic waves except weak ones that don't correlate with any machine readings…" He glanced up at his pod.

"Affirmative. No readings found in close proximity. However, there seems to be machines heading in this direction."

Well shit… was the best my thought process could come up with as the distant sounds rang in my ears, my foot sliding backward toward the hubcap.

4S seemed to agree as he quickly squatted down and helped Devola wrench off the hubcap that lead to the sewer. He gestured for us to follow. Devola jumped in, taking point as Rebecca followed close behind.

I probably would have followed, if not for the quiet sound, almost like a groan, that reached my ears.

"Al! Hurry up!"

I hesitated before frowning and, deciding to trust my gut instinct, (Since I hadn't really trusted my perception lately) and whipped around, heading away from the sewers, much to the others shouts and 4S's startled movement, bolting toward me. He would have pulled me back too, if I hadn't suddenly jolted forward toward the barrier on the right. I could faintly hear humming shots similar to what I remembered from only a few days ago. Those were the machines 4S's pod had mentioned. I felt a tight grip on my arm and jerked, spinning around to see 4S furrowing a deep brow. "What are you doing!" His voice pitched upward, catching me off guard.

I grit my teeth. "I heard somethin-"

"We all did! The machine's!"

"No!" I glanced toward the barrier. "Just…"

I stopped just as a figure came around the corner, collapsing to the ground cutting off my argument. I probably could have caught them if not for 4S's grip on my arm. The android stilled, shock coloring his posture. I wrenched out of his grasp and hurried over, squatting down. "Hey! Are you alright?" I asked.

Before I could get an answer I heard a small explosion before a piece of the fencing shattered. I jerked up, spotting a few machines in the distance, arms up and purple balls spewing out.

I quickly found myself tugging the person who collapsed along with me. Only to feel myself be scooped up, letting out a startled yelp as the ground disappeared. It was a moment of mayhem as we got the man and myself down into the sewers, dropping down the steep drop. I heard scrambling as Devola shot up the ladder and quickly covered the hole as more bullets and the sound of scraping and faint chanting echoed not that far above. We stayed low, holding our breaths as one of the machines clanked above, seemingly looking everywhere before slowly retreating.

"Al, what was that?" Rebecca's frown seemed evident, even in the damp darkness. "You could have been hurt! That was reckless and stupid."

"That's not…" I grimaced before glancing at the figure… man laying on the one dry patch of sewer. While it was grimy, at least it was away from those machines.

"Hold on, I'll get us some light." 4S muttered before, after a few moments, producing a strong beam that illuminated the area and…

I fell back, shocked as Rebecca gasped. Devola's expression was outright HAUNTED. 4S was the only one confused by our reaction, but it was understandable.

"He's… he's human." Rebecca spoke up, squatting down as blood seeped from a wound on his side and burns marred his face and body, but the clothes… they were the same clothes as the military from back home. Devola seemed to outright twitch, eyes utterly glued to the RED dripping from a massive wound at the man's waist. She quickly rushed forward, pulling out whatever she had in her bag in a strange desperation.

"Human?" 4S stared in shock as Rebecca helped Devola work to check on the man's wounds.

Rebecca nodded as Devola carefully, but quickly, peeled off a bit of the flak jacket. Turning her attention back to the man she spoke up. "Hey, what happened?"

The man groaned before slowly opening his eyes. He stared up at us for a long time before relief filled his face. "Ah… so that's where you all were…"

Huh?

"What do you mean?" Rebecca cut herself off, shaking her head. "Can you tell us who you are?" Rebecca gently pressed as Devola cleaned away the wounded area, her desperation increasing. The man coughed, a hint of blood seeping from his lips as I squatted down to hear him.

"I'm… Sergeant Alex Phillips… deputy lieutenant of the squad sent to discover the whereabouts of all missing persons in the recent hash of dimensional disappearances. The only group we hadn't been able to find and retrieve… was the first that were sent through… But… it seems you were able to survive the transference…" He grimaced and reached to his waist before dropping his hand, head limp. "Our group… was annihilated by those robots outside when we were searching for you… but… I need to let the other side know… that you are still alive…"

"Other side?" 4S asked quietly, watching us, but his question remained unanswered as we parsed through everything the man said. Rebecca seemed somber as she stared at the wound at his side… a wide, gashing wound that made me wonder how he was even still talking… It hadn't seemed that bad at first glance, but the clothes had hid the extent of the wound… Blood coated the ground, making it slick and mixing with the tepid odors of the sewer. Devola, however, seemed to be ignoring that. Grabbing out whatever tools she could to sew up the wound. I almost wanted to stop her, but I couldn't find it in myself. Everyone else seemed to already know…

The man slowly nodded, coughing once more. He reached toward his pocket once more with a trembling hand, before dropping it on the ground with a eerie splat. "Please… my left…" His voice was softer, fainter. "There is a transmitter… to our world… it works… even without a rip…"

"How… did you get here?" I asked, supporting his head. He glanced toward me, eyes glazed.

"The same way as you all… the scientists…" He stopped, taking in deep breaths, or at least, trying. The rattling sound that echoed in my ears was enough. "Dimensional travel… past… past few months they've been… working… to recover those lost." He chuckled morbidly. "Too bad you four were the… only survivors we've managed to find…"

I stopped myself from moving my hands to my mouth, but I think my expression probably spoke for itself even as my mind whirled.

"Al…" Rebecca turned to me, even as she supported Alex's head. "Can you get the transmitter?" I hesitated before nodding, reaching to his side. After finding the pouch I carefully took it out, silently cursing as I spotted a large crack span the side, with wires poking out. Fixable, but not any time soon.

"Alex is your name, right?" Devola quickly spoke up, with a urgency and panic in her voice that made me cringe.

The man barely had the strength to turn his head this time, one hand resting on his chest. A subtle nod being the best he could seem to do.

I wanted to look away, but I decided to stay and watch.

"I've almost got you sewn up. You'll be fine, okay? So stay with me. Understood?"

Those words… those sentences…

The man's lips twitched up. "You're… very kind… I wish… we'd found you sooner… maybe… we could have… saved… someone from this… world…"

"Wha-"

"Thank… you…" This time, even though he didn't turn his head, I knew he was talking to me. I felt my throat clench as his breath slowly slid out, the rattle gone… and Devola still as a statue.

"Thank you… Alex…" Rebecca spoke softly, her voice choked, words raspy. Her hand reached down, covering his eyes. "I'm sorry… we couldn't help you…"

I bent my head down, feeling my whole body shaking in the full realization. What… what just happened? One moment we were heading to find my sister and the next… the next we have a military officer from home that… that…

"Dammit…" I breathed, fists clenching at my side, the transmitter clutched tightly in my hand. I pulled it up, scrutinizing it. Could this really… contact our home? I wasn't about to doubt him. He was so certain, as if he wanted to at least convey that…

"Why?"

That one word sounded so heartbroken, it teared at me. I turned to the source, spotting Devola just staring at the blood coating her hands, the figure, silent and dead in front of her.

4S was just watching with a conflicted expression. To my shock he reached up and slowly took his headband off, gripping it in his hand. The shocking blue of his eyes, similar to 9S's, only slightly surprised me. But his entire arm was shaking, his gaze glued to Alex's still form.

We all sat in silence for a long time as the blood trickled down the side and dropped into the water with a faint drip, drip, drip. Devola didn't seem to have any other words, her fingers gently feeling over the man, almost hopeful in her movements. Rebecca gently reached forward, gripping her wrist to stop her as I stood, looking at the transmitter.

It was definitely reminiscent of home. The familiar brand, a simple fruit logo. However, it seemed like it must have been damaged at some point. 4S might be able to fix it but… I gently closed my hand around it.

As I turned my attention to those around me, Rebecca spotted me, and weakly smiled, earning one in return, though I didn't feel it. 4S was putting his blindfold back on, even as his pod swiveled back and forth behind him, faint sounds echoing from its metal body.

It wasn't hard to assume what that sound was.

"We… can't stay here," Rebecca stood up, a strange anger seeming to cover her face. "Those… machines could find us even now… My son…"

"We have to find them." I furrowed my brow pushing away the lingering sadness. As frustrating as it was, as disturbing as it was. We needed to keep moving…

I needed, even more so, to know that my sister was safe.

I couldn't bare the thought of finding her in a similar state, especially now that we had a possible means of contacting home.

This transmitter was too important, but it would have to wait. Right now, the safety of the others was more important.

And I wasn't the only one who seemed to realize that.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

A special gift for the end of 2018. I hope you all enjoy your New Year's celebrations! I look forward to continuing to write this and work with you all into 2019. So look forward to more from me and this fun little story of mine!


	16. Guest Chapter

Alright, I will just say... I'm very sorry on the long delay folks and, even worse, this isn't really a continuation. A friend of mine was willing to write a guest chapter for me while I'm feverishly working to clean up the previous pages. I'm making good progress on the rewrite and I know you all will enjoy it. For now though, this is all I can really give you. I wanted to thank Coolguybest for this chapter and if you could, take a look at his work as well titled: NieR to Death. Anyway, enjoy this fun little chapter and hopefully I'll have more information for you guys soon.

* * *

5O sighed as she began the call. 4S never called in on time, forcing her to have to take the initiative. It was part of the Operator's duties, she supposed, but that didn't always endear her to him, having to all but force him to make his reports. The call suddenly took, and 5O prepared to launch into her usual greetings.

"4S, it's time for your regularly scheduled… contact." The words slowly died in her throat as she realized what just appeared on her screen.

4S stood front and center, that much was certain. The black-haired Scanner uneasily looked back and forth between his screen and the other people, who 5O wasn't as familiar with. Of the two androids next to 4S, the girl seemed slightly taller, though they weren't remarkable for their height. Their black hair lay scraggly on their heads - probably an indicator of being away from a camp for so long. 5O briefly wondered why that would be, since they didn't seem like type to be sent out like that.

Come to think of it, they weren't even equipped in that way. The frankly bizarre way that they were dressed confused 5O - where was the equipment that they were supposed to carry? The repair kits, the long-range comm gear? She wasn't all that well-versed in everything the Resistance gave to their troops, but she could tell an under-equipped android when she saw one.

5O blinked, taking the whole scene in. "But first, where are you?"

"Oh, uh…" 4S stammered, coming up with another of his excuses, "5O, this is-"

She brought a hand to her face. 4S could be a headache when no one was keeping an eye on him. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you got wrapped up with Anemone- again- and she got you working with a bunch of other androids- again- right?" If she'd have to bail him out…

"Something like that," he whimpered.

"I thought as much. It's just like that time with the factory. If the Resistance don't give you a map of the general area, then don't go out there! I was really worried about you, too! You could have seriously gotten lost!"

"5O!"

"What? How else do you expect me to react when you're…" 5O's eye suddenly caught on one of the other people in the room, and she decided to take initiative. "But enough of that, seems you've got company. Name's 5O, if you didn't catch from my loopy little lad. Who might you be?"

The boy looked uneasy. "Er… My name's Al…"

"Cath." The girl beside him barely moved, almost disinterested in the situation.

Something about this 'Al' rang a bell with 5O. "Wait, 4S, didn't you mention meeting one of them before?"

"Ah, I might have," 4S toyed with his shirt, "but it's been a bit since then, and-"

"Well, I can definitely say that your reports aren't accurate enough. He's a lot more-"

"5O!" Even through the visual static, she could make out a hint of blush on the poor Scanner.

"Alright, alright. Sorry." She smiled to herself. She was not sorry in the slightest. "As much as I'd like to get to know you two more, if I don't get this report filed on time, ol' Commandy's going to give me a thorough chewing out. 19O really faced her wrath, recently." 5O chuckled as she recalled her getting what she deserved.

"Oh," Al suddenly spoke up, "are you on the Bunker?"

5O paused. She stared through the hologram at the android on the other side. Was he okay? Everyone knows that Operators are relegated to the Bunker. The only way you wouldn't know if you got formatted or if you were recently minted. Considering that 4S found him far away from any camp, lost and confused, neither really fit.

She made up her mind. She was keeping an eye on this one.

"Of course, all Operators are stationed on the Bunker. I thought-"

"Yeah," 4S interrupted, "why do you ask?" 5O narrowed her eyes at the offending android. It wasn't normal for 4S to talk over anyone else… something else to file away, she figured.

Someone spoke off-camera. "Is it possible for us to get in contact with the Commander?"

5O balked. What? She didn't know what was worse - that some Resistance android thought that this would be a good thing to say, or that no one else wanted to correct him. 4S looked on in surprise at whoever had the gall to raise that question. The expectant faces on Cath and Al made her wary of just what was going on with these androids. Maybe no other camp wanted them.

She stifled a laugh as she responded. "Yeah, about that. Not only is that against seventeen different protocols, but ol' Comm- I mean, the Commander is an extremely busy person. Think back to how busy your old camp leader was, then think about how bad it'd be if it were scaled up to a global scale. There's a lot that's been weighing on her mind lately. Word is, she's been so agitated, she kicked an Operator out an airlock for bringing up a question to her." She shook her head, "Poor 36O. Anyway, I hear space is rather cold, and I wouldn't quite like stepping down from my position."

"Oh, that's… fine. If she's available, just let her know that we'd like to talk with her if she gets the chance."

How did these androids even manage to get to a camp? She let her biting sarcasm flow freely, "Yeah, I can forward that mes - Did you not hear what I just said?! I quite like the warmth of the Bunker, thank you very much."

"Right…" The off-screen android seemed to back down.

"Now then, 4S, I'll be needing that report. I'll give you some time to get your act together, but I can't buy you more than an hour. Can you get it ready by then?"

"I should be able to, 5O."

"Good. You be a good boy, now!" She ended the call and sat back. 38O would be breathing down her neck soon enough, now she just had to prepare for her. After a moment, she leaned forward, focusing on writing up why 4S hadn't yet finished his portion.

The thoughts kept stewing in her mind. Operators were prone to over-analysis, and 5O's construction was too far within normal parameters for her to be exempt. The whole situation was… weird would put it too lightly. You're not just supposed to have androids that show up in the middle of nowhere with no equipment and no explanation. What's more, 4S was interested in them as well. As 5O sent off the report, she decided another talk with 4S was in order.

Not even a minute later, she was face-to-face with her Scanner. "5O to 4S. Do you have a minute?" 4S was probably 'in' the camp, inside one of the buildings surrounding the central plazas. YoRHa units didn't have much of a reason to be inside one of the abandoned buildings otherwise.

"Yeah, I was just… going over data."

"I suppose that's what they're calling it now, isn't it?"

"Wha-?! No 5O, wait!"

She laughed as she waved the topic off. "You need to be able to tell when other people are messing with you, 4S. But anyway, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. You know those androids you were with on our last call? 'Cath' and 'Al', I think they're called? What do you know about them?"

4S stilled for a few seconds, a habit of his whenever he needed to really think something through. "I… I'm honestly not all that sure of a lot. But it's not just me, right? Are you picking up really weird things from them? Like, I mean, super weird."

"Yeah. You met up with Al earlier, out on the field, right? What do you remember from then?"

"A few important things. I couldn't detect him on the proximity scanners. I mean, that itself was really impressive, usually there's some signal, but he managed to block even the basest of emissions. From that, I thought that I was dealing with someone pretty well specialized.

"But then I noticed that he wasn't carrying any equipment. No external transmitters or scanners, no kits, but strangest of all, he wasn't carrying any weapons."

5O blinked. "Really?"

"He was carrying… something, though I can't tell quite what it was."

"Did you happen to grab some scans?"

4S scoffed. "What type of scanner do you take me for? Sending them now."

"Good boy. What have you noticed about the other androids? Well, first, how many are there?"

"Seven in total. Three guys, four girls."

"Anything special you've picked up from them?" 4S didn't give a response. "…Anything? Was there something off with anyone else other than Al?"

"I…"

5O closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. 4S could be the sharpest Scanner she knew, but there were times where he could not parse a situation if his life depended on it. Just as she was about to rebuke him, a realization struck her, fueled by a recent rumor spreading around the Bunker. "…So let's go back to what you have found out. What else have you noticed about Al?"

"Ah- right, right. It kind of struck me as weird, so I didn't mention it in the earlier report, but I didn't feel the normal weight when pulling Al along. I'm rather curious about his construction - even the most lightweight androids haven't been pared down to what he's at. He seemed… confused when he first met me. Asking questions about my getup - the visor in particular seemed to confuse him. I mean, I get that some Resistance androids still haven't come into contact with YoRHa units, but I'm really concerned." 4S hesitated.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"I'm partially sure that they're… some kind of prototype unit. It would explain the reduced weight - trying out novel setups - and the inexperience - wouldn't want to have this information leaking. It would even explain why I couldn't detect him, since he would be using tech more advanced than I'm used to. But some things still aren't making sense…"

"Well," 5O leaned back in her chair, "you know, there's one way to find out what's happening."

"Hm?"

"Try getting closer to him. Then you'd-"

"Wh-whoa, whoa, hang on! You're not- you're not suggesting-!"

5O paused and glanced up at her screen. That wasn't the response she was expecting. Intrigued, she suppressed her smile as pushed further. "…What, 4S? What am I suggesting?"

"Look, I just don't think that'd be helpful with surveillance. I think we'd find better results if we kept back and-"

"No, no, 4S. The best way to gather intel in this situation is to be direct and straightforward. And remember, don't tilt your hand too far and reveal everything, you wouldn't want to scare him off."

4S lowered his head. "I don't know if I can do this. I still think I can find out more if I just listen in."

"Listening in is great for finding out that there's something there, but if you want hard answers, you're going to need to confront them. Think it over, I know you need time to plan."

As the screen flickered off, 5O briefly wondered if she played with him a little too hard.

4S sighed as he made his way to the showers to think. He didn't want to do this, but 5O was right. There was no way for him to get his answers if he stayed far away. He could always do his most thorough thinking when he was alone, and shower rooms were perfect for this. As he pushed the door aside, he froze as he noticed the singular person standing in the room.

Al.

"Come on, Cath. You always take forever." He was glaring at the only stall currently in use, from which more steam than was technically necessary poured out. He could not sense the other androids, so wondered if it was just the two of them.

"Al, this is the first time I've been able to hit the showers in forever. I can't even remember how long it's been since I've had a shower this warm, since you use up all the hot water anyway."

"You just took one yesterday though." Al deadpanned, arms crossed over his chest.

4S needed to act, and fast. This was as perfect of a situation that he was going to get, and he wasn't going to let this slip by. "E-Excuse me?" Al snapped around to face him with a surprised look on his face, and 4S's next words died in his throat. What was he supposed to say?

"Sorry, sorry," Al began to speak, "Cath likes to take her time in there, and-"

"Um, look. You remember meeting up with me some time back, right?"

"-Uh… yeah, why?"

"Well, I've been- been thinking about that time," 4S found himself fidgeting. He never was the social type, scanners usually weren't. "Well… I… I'm… kind of interested in-"

A laugh broke out of the stall. "Oh, Al! Pff-" Cath couldn't speak through her uncontrolled laughter.

"Wh- hang on-"

"Can't just stay content with one, huh? Had to find someone else, right?"

Al stilled for all of two seconds before blushing furiously. "Catherine Kyne!"

The words only made her laugh louder, making 4S even more uncomfortable. "I… I would like it if you… if you would-"

The laughter suddenly redoubled as Al whipped around to face 4S, a panicked expression on his face. "Oh come on! It's gotta be something else, right?" He almost pleaded, causing 4S to blink in surprise. "I already have a girlfriend!"

"Girlfriend?" 4S shook his head, filing the information away for later as he straightened himself up.

"Yeah." Al seemed more than a little uncomfortable, watching him warily. "Plus, well, how would that even work?"

The laughter that had been dying down decided to resume. 4S didn't even know an android could laugh that much. "It won't take long." Al's face paled and 4S was left wondering if something was wrong with his regulatory system, but pressed on anyway. "I just have to ask you a few questions."

The relief that passed over Al's face as he slumped and let out a groan confused 4S more than he would like to admit.

"Ah, too bad. Right Al?" Cath's voice echoed through the shower room as the water turned off.

"Oh shut it." Al groused before turning to 4S. "Just, next time? Please just get straight to the point?"

4S stared at him, confused. He thought he had. He let out a sigh. These androids, whatever model they were, were beyond confusing.

Why couldn't he have just watched from afar? Stupid 5O.

"Yeah, next time just come out and say you like him!"

"CATHERINE KYNE!"

4S was never going to be able to understand these two… and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.


End file.
